Camp Combination: United Force (SYOC OPEN Villains & Teachers)
by EmpressLotus
Summary: In an effort to revive the hero program into what it used to be and unite the feuding hero schools that are starting to pull society apart at the seams, several of the top high schools in Japan have decided to band together for this year's new program: Camp Combination or United Force, where hero students are forced to join together for a year. (SYOC OPEN! Teachers & Villains)
1. Character form & Info

Hello to all, how's it going? After some personal issues and a much-needed hiatus, I've decided to start writing again. I used to post SYOCs on here pretty often back when I first joined this site, but I've grown up since then, and after overcoming a disease, I wanted to start writing again because it's something I love doing. I used to have like zero motivation for fics because of my personal life, and I didn't really finish what I started, but now that I'm finally cancer free (as of nine-months!) and started going to college I'm going to try this again. So please forgive me for discontinuing and deleting like all of my stories.

_Onward to the character form and rules! (which will also be on my profile for you to copy.)_

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**_Full Summary: _**

With Midoriya's class starting their third year at UA, the world as we know it has grown to be a chaotic throng of heroes and villains thriving in a constant cut-throat battle between 'good and evil.' Classic wholesome heroes such as All Might are no more, and hero-work is now about pettiness and social status, no longer relying on saving the day but making a name for themselves and rising in popularity. The rapid rise of membership in the League of Villains has not gone unnoticed by the industry as society is slowly taking a turn for the worst although it seems like all these new young heroes are worried about is proving which hero school is better and who has the promise to be in the top rankings once they graduate. In an effort to revive the hero program into what it used to be and unite the feuding hero schools that are starting to pull the heroes apart at the seams, several of the top high schools in Japan have decided to band together for this year's new program: **_Camp Combination or 'United Force',_** which is what is known as the idea to place UA, Shiketsu High School, Ketsubutsu Academy, and Seiai Academy, among others, in a joint hero program where all schools are forced to train and learn with one another as a unit academy for a whole year. Will the students from all over be able to overcome their differences and band together as the next generation of heroes to put the league of villains out of commission, or will the United Force program ruin heroes and let society crumble to darkness?

**Schools open for submissions:**

**U.A. High School -** Ranking as #1 high school for heroics since the year that it opened, U.A. is considered as the top Hero Academy in Japan. Students are separated based on their abilities into specific Departments and Classes, unlike most hero academies and is the most prestigious and coveted school of them all. With holding the distinguished spot at the top, many precautions have been made to keep members of the press and villains out of the constantly swarmed school making it one of the safest facilities after the first and last U.A. break-in two years prior. With this next year, U.A. has shot up in even more popularity due to one of the most promising graduating classes any hero school has had in Japan in decades, with Midoriya's class as 3-A.

**Shiketsu High School -** The only hero school that can match U.A. in popularity and prestige is Shiketsu High School. Shiketsu is the top school in the West of Japan, rivaling only their eastern counterpart, U.A. Shiketsu, despite its mainstream fascination is involved in old traditions of strict military-style uniforms and is among one of the strictest programs for hero schools. Shiketsu holds strong values that they instill into their students such as maintaining dignity at all times and their main role of focus as a hero. Among one of their most enforced rules is a policy of forbidding relations/relationships with other students.

**Ketsubutsu Academy** \- Ketsubutsu Academy is one of the lesser known hero schools of Japan, although it's quickly rising in the ranks of popularity due to last years impressive graduating class, with Yo Shindo being one of the top students in the rankings. Ketsubutsu Academy has a rivalry with U.A. High and tries to crush them in the preliminaries of the Provisional Hero License Exam every year, and is known to specifically target U.A. students. Ketsubutsu Academy is the most relaxed of all schools, with a more toned-down uniform that promotes comfort and individuality. This is one of the only hero schools without strict rules and policies and instead teaches students in 'fun' environments for hands-on 'positive' training. Hero teachers are usually viewed as friends and mentors to students, rather than teachers with a versatile approach to learning and teaching future heroes.

**Seiai Academy -** Perhaps not as well-known as U.A., Seiai Academy, an all-female school is just as prestigious as any of the top academies in Japan and plays host to female students from around the world with their 'World-love' program. Seiai, meaning "Divine Love," upholds very strict rules on order and spreading good-will to their female heroines in training and the rarest of some of the top female heroes of this age have graduated from Seiai. Although, despite its name, Seiai's students can be anything but 'good-will' abiding ladies and this school is known to be one of the most cut-throat of the bunch. With its strict code of conduct, classic uniform design and 'fairness' overall, it is very difficult to get into this prestigious school unless students are either recommended or well-off. This is the only hero school that offers a scholarship program to students interested in applying, however, the acceptance rate is only 0.2%.

(If you are interested in submitting a character from another school then PM me)

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**Rules:**

1\. Please try to comment at least every other chapter or as often as possible, I want active readers for this. And please give me any kind of feedback!

2\. ONLY SUBMIT THROUGH A PM! _Title it: MHA - character name - hero name & quirk - school._ I will delete any forms posted through review.

3\. Japanese names are preferred since the story takes place in Japan.

4\. You can be related to canon characters but please don't go crazy with this. This story takes place with the original 1-A going into their third year at UA and with our main cast going into their first year at any school. Any school is welcome for submissions, you are not just limited to UA. A lot of canon characters will make appearances and be pretty involved with the plot. I'll have a list of the main schools below that you are able to submit to.

5\. Create whatever type of oc you want and just have fun with it. Try not to use copies of quirks from the series and nothing extremely OP (No One for all, All for One, quirkless individuals/inheriting quirks, multiple elemental quirks such as being able to control more than one element).

6\. This isn't first come first serve, and I will not save spots.

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Character Form

\- Full Name:

\- Nickname(s) (If you have any):

\- Hero Name:

\- Age (14-18):

\- Year/Grade:

\- Gender:

\- Sexuality:

\- School:

\- Appearance (Please be very detailed!):

\- Markings (Include any piercings, defining scars, and etc.):

\- Clothing & Accessories (Include school uniform, casual, formal, sleepwear, etc. You may give me a list of clothing or describe their style or outfits.):

\- Personality Description (be very descriptive. This is where you break down and explain/elaborate on your traits. A minimum of at least 14 sentences.):

\- Quirk:

\- Quirk Description:

\- Quirk Strengths:

\- Quirk Weaknesses:

\- Special Moves:

\- Fighting Style:

\- Costume:

\- Strengths:

\- Weaknesses:

\- Fears:

\- Likes: (A minimum of 4)

\- Dislikes: (minimum of 4)

\- Hobbies: (minimum of 2)

\- Habits: (Optional)

\- Secrets (if you have any.)

\- Family (If vital to the story, please be descriptive of each important family member. Can be related to canon characters. ):

\- History/Backstory (Include life up to the point of entering your chosen school and anything prominent that has happened to your OC.):

\- Home/residence: (a brief description of their family home, where is it located, appearance, etc):

\- Dormmate: (Do you want one, and if so, what kind of OC would you prefer?):

\- Dorm description:

\- School activities & Clubs: (Outside of the hero program do they have any activities they are involved in?)

\- Friends: (What kind of people do you get along with?)

\- Enemies: (What kind of people would they not get along with?)

\- Love Interest (Yes or no? And if so, what kind of person would they see themselves with?):

\- Love Story (Ideas for how you'd like your OC to meet their love interest and how they get together? This is optional):

\- How did your OC get into their school (Recommendation? Passed the exam? etc.):

\- How does your OC feel about all of the schools combining for this new program? Is there any school your OC dislikes?:

\- Do you have any concerns about the schools combining?:

\- Why do you want to be a hero/Why are you in the hero program?:

\- Type of hero you want to be (rescue hero, battle hero, support hero, etc):

\- Do you have any prominent goals?:

\- Is there a hero/character that your OC wants to meet and/or work with?:

\- Quotes (optional):

\- Story ideas (optional):


	2. Character Roster (syoc open for ocs)

**Accepted Cast Roster**

STUDENT SPOTS CLOSED! Villains and Teachers OPEN.

**Students -**

_**U.A. High School **_

_Males_

1\. Raijin Akatani - Helios - Solar Power - submitter: **MarvelNinja10**

2\. Choushi Manami - Ageha - Love Struck - submitter: **syzygy zacker**

3\. Fujiyama Toin - Glitch - Shutdown - submitter: **SaibotVapor  
**

4\. Kazuma Sawada - Vocal - Bard - submitter: **ssjzohan**

5\. Balek Rexavi - Ateles - Arachnasimian - submitter: **AnonymousAK**

_Females _

1\. Manami Chino - Elementi - Elemental Control - submitter: **JustUsingARandomName**

2\. Michi Enomoto - Terrestria - Seismic Hands - submitter: **ZodiacPanic**

3\. Inatsu Isae - Inky - Inkspell - submitter: **Rainbowtart**

_**Shiketsu High School**_

_Males_

1\. Hayate Tamori - Windbreaker - In and Out - submitter: **Artesys**

2\. Kazuma Fujiki - Bladedge - Weapon Tracing - submitter: **SoulMatter**

3\. Hiryu Hajime Hisawa - Specter - Death - submitter: **alucard deathsinger**

4\. Somoki Keiyumu - Agent Lost - Parasite Smoke - submitter: **jppokemon99**

_Females_

1\. Esmerelda Hayashi - Butterfly - Metamorphosis - submitter: **Iamadedicatedwriter**

2\. Nami Jukane - Skyfire - Fireworks - submitter: **MusixDrag**

3\. Hana Okamura - St. Cloud - Adiabatic cooling - submitter: **Elements08**

_**Ketsubutsu Academy **_

_Males_

1\. Ryuichi Sato - Ryu - Dragons Blood - submitter: **PSISomething**

2\. Ashikaga, Nijiko - Angel - Feral Flight - submitter: **Snow Bender**

3\. Kikkyō Inochi - Hero 47 - Cube - submitter: **JackHammerMan  
**

4\. Yowai Fukusei - Wariai - Bio E Construct - submitter: **BirdBoy155**

_Females_

1\. Honoka Shibutani - Spirit Song - Banshee - submitter: **LifeisBeautiful17**

2\. Kishiko Nagisa - Leviathan - Sea Monster - submitter: **CandidSniper**

_**Seiai Academy**_

Females

1\. Olivia 'Livie' Livingston - The Wall Walker - Attractive Force Manipulation - submitter: **Millyna**

2\. Kamiyama Anka - Light Knight - White Light speed - submitter: **Duchess Disaster**

3\. Yuna Shinomari - Firefly - Lightning bug - submitter: **Starblitz1312**

4\. Cassiopeia 'Cassie' Shield Honda - Hemoglobin - Blood Manipulation - submitter: **Hikari1996**

5\. Alita Adiva Aditya Ayyunindya - Rangda - Rangda - submitter: **ThalioTP**

**Teachers/Pro-Heroes -**

1\. Kaiyo Amamiya - Endless Night - Jet Black - submitter: **StylishDescent**

2\. Tsuki Dazai - Marshmallow - Sticky Situation - submitter: **Duchess Disaster**

**Villains -**

1\. Meiyo Fumiki - Korosenai - Chemi-Fix - submitter: **Iamadedicatedwriter**

2\. Touma Itsuki - Indestructo - Indestructible - submitter: **MarvelNinja10**

3\. Johnathan Rasputin - Scout - double jump - submitter: **Green As Envy**

4\. Alexander Joseph Booth - Godfather - Black Book - submitter: **TUFFY B**

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I am so overjoyed with the support rolling in for this story. Thank you all so much! I can't even express how happy and thankful I am. Thank you guys for following and favoriting as well as the kind reviews. I'm dedicating this story to all of you for helping me get back on my feet with writing and getting through my personal struggles. Thank you all.

And a special thanks to **PSISomething** for your review and suggestion for the school descriptions. You are so right, that was a fantastic idea. So everyone thank her for that because I completely forgot to add the descriptions. Anyways, I will post characters who are accepted to this chapter, so check here to see if your OC is accepted.

As a reminder, canon characters will be prevalent in the story, especially since most of them are in their third year so they will show up somewhat often. That goes for pros as well, such as Eraserhead, Ms. Joke, etc, so with that being said, don't create OCs that are copies of original characters since they will both be in attendance. Let me know if you have questions or need help with your form. Don't be afraid to PM me!

Lastly, I am now excepting pro heroes, teachers, and villains, so feel free to submit one if you're interested. Thanks my dears!

Yours truly, Lotus


	3. Introduction - Ch 0

**Introduction - Chapter 0**

The street was brimming with noise - car horns blaring, an atrociously loud sound that made her sensitive ears ache, twitching in distaste from their spot on top of her head in their large, pointed, annoyed glory. For something so sensitive, they stuck out like a beacon on top of her head, a strange peachy color that did not match her ink-black hair, taking in all of the noises around her. Music spilled from open windows as impatient drivers tried to wait out the four-way street lights, while the clicking of shoes against the busy sidewalks clanged loudly in her mind as a large group of busy civilians crossed the busy street corner to her left. All of these sounds normally struck her ten-fold - sometimes she found it almost unbearable to even go outside without her specialized earplugs.

But for once, the sounds all seem to fade into the background. It was not nearly as suffocating and deafening as she remembered it. Despite all of the overwhelming sound surrounding her, she could make his voice out as clear as day, as if he was the only other person in Tokyo city center. And to her, he was. Her heart pounded wildly against her ribcage, breath coming in uneven puffs and _wow,_ she inhaled, _I can't believe it._ Matter was here, in front of her, addressing her by her hero name, and speaking directly to _her._

"Sonar, was it? It's nice to meet you. I hope we'll get along well."

_'Me… oh my god, he's talking to me!_' her mind needlessly supplied, and she wanted to crush down the stupid adolescent response to meeting a fellow hero, but _damn_. She could barely contain herself under the swell of excitement and admiration that hit her all at once as the man in front of her gave a low bow in the middle of the street. He was here, in front of her, and the woman had to blink a few times just to remind herself this wasn't an apparition, but Matter, himself, in all of his glory. _'This is so crazy. I can't believe it - I just can't!'_

She had imagined this moment so many times and how it would play out, but this, this was so much better than she could have ever hoped. Matter was one of the reason's she wanted to be a hero in the first place. He wasn't that much older than herself and was already in the top fifty list of hero rankings. He was just so freaking _cool_ and amazing and she couldn't believe her luck at finally meeting him in person!

He looked even better and more inspiring in person, she couldn't help but think, with his signature grey locks floating around his head in an otherworldly crown of waves that almost resembled liquid smoke in the way the strands seemed to dissipate away at the ends. The man's hero costume looked just the same as on TV, fading from black around the torso, to white on the limbs of his suit. And when he stood up fully, she could see the familiar circular dark lenses of his mask, hiding what she knew were bright eyes below. It was surreal, just like she was looking at the poster on her bedroom wall at home but actually tangible. It was a dream come true to finally be assigned patrol with Matter of all people. Sonar had been looking forward to this day for years, had even tried to discreetly convince her supervisor to put her on the schedule with him and finally all of her hard work had paid off because here he was, in the flesh.

Blinking back to reality, her thoughts came to a brief halt when she realized just how long she'd been standing there, gawking at him like he was some streetshow and her eyes widened in horror at her mistake. She had made the Matter wait on her like some servant! _Oh shit, he probably thought she was a weirdo!_ Sonar nervously shifted a hand through her short ebony locks, a choked coughing sound falling from her lips.

_'Oh god, what do I say? How do I answer without sounding like an idiot!?'_

"Oh, um, yes, thank you. It's good to meet you as well. Please take care of me." With a soft, nervous stutter, Sonar politely bowed her head, the bob of curly black hair splaying over her forehead. She felt a warmth spread across her cheeks and she quickly hid it behind her purple visor. Oh, thank god her face was mostly covered or she would've died from embarrassment. But if he had noticed her mishap, he didn't say anything, and Sonar was eternally grateful.

The two heroes went about their business soon after introductions and the day was, much to her disappointment, going by quickly. Working with him was even more of a dream, if that was even possible. He was one of the most efficient partners on patrol and despite her initial churning inner turmoil - _maybe my quirk wasn't powerful enough or I freeze up on the spot or don't impress him enough_ \- all of that faded away as the day went on.

The two walked in a comfortable silence, side by side, as they had most of the day. There wasn't as much pressure as she had imagined, and actually... she hadn't felt that uncomfortable around the man. Hardly any suspicious activity could be found that day - rather, it was more petty thieves and hooligans trying their luck. Nothing too overly terrible or difficult to deal with, for the most part.

A calm aura surrounded them, a gentle breeze wafting through the air, rustling their hair and leaving Sonar with a warm feeling inside her stomach. It was a sunny afternoon and honestly, she was starting to doubt her choice of costume because it was so hot outside she was nearly suffocating. Her black and purple attire was not the most breathable of materials, with her sleeveless, short body-suit combo. That part definitely gave her some breathing room, but the black spandex tights underneath her body-suit shorts were making her legs feel as though they were boiling, and she couldn't wait to peel them off later tonight.

Side-eyeing the male next to her, it didn't seem like he was having the same struggle, and if he was, then he definitely wasn't showing it. His face was the picture of neutrality, not entirely cold but borderline stoic. Sonar chalked it up to his concentration. Heroes like him, who were climbing the ranks in staggering numbers probably didn't have time to worry about petty complaints.

Suddenly his voice broke the silence and Sonar jumped a little in surprise, sensitive to the disruption.

"Do you want to stop and get some dinner before we continue?" the gray-haired man inquired, his tone level, and even without seeing his expression, she could guess that the other was raising an eyebrow in question.

"Um, I'm okay either way, it's up to you if we should stop. I'm fine with waiting if you'd like. We've only been patrolling a few hours and -"

And as if her stomach had a mind of its own, it chose that moment to let out a loud gurgling noise of protest. Sonar paled at the sound before her face colored in embarrassment. The raven haired woman groaned to herself, silently willing for the ground to just go ahead and swallow her up before she really made a fool of herself in front of her idol.

_So much for looking competent,_ she thought, sighing and rolling her eyes, fighting against the impulsive want of smacking her skull against the brick alleyway.

Matter let out a quiet laugh that bounced around the air pleasantly. With a sheepish chuckle of her own, Sonar nodded in reply. Both fell back in step after, making a mutual agreement on getting dinner.

The afternoon was a dull, muted hum against the city backdrop. Maybe they would have an easy rest of the day and she would actually get her chance to get to know her idol more? Sonar mused to herself as a secret smile pulled across her face and her hands clutched into excited fists at her sides.

Although, the excitement was cut short when her quirk suddenly started activating on it's own. Her abnormally large ears twitched and her eyes zoned in on a conversation a few buildings down. From what she could make out it sounded like two young boys, school children most likely, their voices straining over the distance and Sonar didn't realize she was zoning out until a hand gently grazed her shoulder.

"Are you picking up something?" Matter asked, attention honed in on the woman. She nodded in return, pointing her index finger in the direction of the commotion.

"Two boys, it seems, causing some trouble. Nothing too bad, maybe just an argument of some sort," she found herself saying with an easy shrug.

It was nothing to get worked up over - definitely not the work of villains at hand or the fall of humanity. Just two school kids having an ordinary dispute in a neighborhood. It wasn't unusual for her to pick up random bits of arguments here and there, considering the fact that her quirk tended to enhance both her hearing and eyesight at random times. Although, if it didn't sound dire then she would avoid taking action. It wasn't her business anyways. But when she turned to tell Matter that it wasn't a big deal, she noticed the pro hero already sprinting away in the direction she pointed to.

The raven haired woman blinked in surprise and with a silent curse took off after the other.

"Matter-sama, please wait! It's not an emergency!" Her calls after the grey haired man went unanswered and she struggled to keep up. Especially when the man abruptly came to a stop in front of a nearby building, and, reaching out a hand, touched the side. Sonar stared in amazement as the building phased in and out of reality and he immediately passed through. All she could do was stand there, feeling like a helpless idiot and _shit,_ she thought, _I need to catch up!_

The black haired woman pushed off against the ground with the steel toe of her calf-length boots, rushing to try and follow to wherever Matter had bounded off too. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she ran, wind whipping against her partially exposed cheeks and for a second, she wondered why she felt so anxious to catch up. Maybe fear of disappointing the other? Or no... that wasn't quite it. She just couldn't place the odd feeling that churned relentlessly in her stomach, looping and knitting her insides like rope. Something felt strange - _off_ \- and she couldn't quite place just what it was that was nagging at the back of her mind.

She rushed around yet another corner until finally, her eyes locked onto the familiar stalk of the slightly shorter man's grey hair. Oh good, there he is. With her breath coming out in exerted pants, her burning legs slowed down to a casual walk. Thin lips pulled into a small smile as she approached the scene with the hero and two middle-school aged children.

"Thank you Mr. Matter-senpai," one of the children, a small boy with a bowl cut, murmured softly. He was rushing his words and bowed his head before turning and scampering off down the street. His short legs shuffled so quickly, and for a second Sonar wondered if the child was running away from something. But what would he run away from? That didn't make any sense. He was probably overwhelmed - the poor thing. It wasn't everyday you got to meet your favorite hero, and she could honestly relate. A smile pulled over her features and her chest warmed at the endearing thought.

What a cute kid, she mused, grin in place as she stepped forward now that everything was in the clear.

Situation averted! Now hopefully they could go and get dinner and...

The smile immediately fell from her face when she stopped next to Matter. Something had noticeably shifted in the air, stifling its weight down on her shoulders, and she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling rising in her chest. This... this felt wrong. What was this? Her breath stuttered, eyes widening as her heart sped up again.

"What's wrong?" Sonar murmured, dark eyebrows pulling together in a furrow under her visor. Her violet eyes fell onto the quivering form of a child, leaning with his body huddling against the brick wall of the alleyway. He was just as small as the other kids, but with a head of short mousy brown hair and wide brown eyes. And with one small glance downward she could make out the slight shaking of his hands.

This wasn't how you reacted to a hero.

"This boy was trying to bully money out of his school mate," Matter spoke. The tone he used was so unfamiliar, and something about it didn't settle right in her chest. The whole thing felt wrong, like something was indeed off but her frazzled mind couldn't pick out what it was just yet. The man in front of her, her hero, was staring down from under his black mask at the pre-teen below him and something about him was just… _different._

"Well, that's very wrong, young man. You should know better than do something so mean. It's not right to bully or steal from others, okay? You wouldn't like it if someone did that to you. So don't let us catch you doing this again, or we'll have to talk to your parents." Sonar raised her voice a bit in an attempt to handle the situation, figuring that a stern talking to - and perhaps a bit of a scare - would be enough to teach the kid right from wrong.

Suddenly Matter's hand smacked down next to the child's head, landing on the hard surface of the brick, and both Sonar and the child jumped in surprise. Instantly she was red alert, all her senses blaring _'wrong, protect, save...'_ but from _what?_ Certainly not from _Matter._ He was a hero!

The dimming light of the day cast strange, sinister shadows on Matter's youthful features. And it was like she wasn't even looking at the same man she'd idolized for so long.

"Um, Matter... shouldn't we be heading to dinner?" Sonar started hesitantly, glancing back and forth between the child and the man, her body high strung. A shudder ran up and down her entire being with the laugh that left his throat - it echoed around the desolate alleyway, bitter and harsh. She could feel the fine hairs all over herself standing on end.

_What was happening?_

"Doesn't it get... _boring_?" Matter suddenly asked, and the raven haired woman blanched, blinking wildly in confusion, caught between the instinct of fight or flight.

_What?_ She paused mid-step, _what kind of question was that?_ What in the world was he talking about? Had he gone mad? Her thoughts were racing, fear jittering through her body. Why was she reacting like this?

"Excuse... excuse me?" Sonar found herself stammering out, flabbergasted disbelief staining her tone, and she silently cursed herself for the terrified pitch in her voice. And suddenly, Matter's dark, masked gaze was on her, head tilted and with a strange smirk on his lips.

"M-Matter… sir?" the boy quietly pleaded, confusion and fear seeping into his voice, and it sounded so small - so delicate and fragile - that Sonar's heart squeezed. The woman's breath quickened to a rapid pace as she clenched her gloved fists tightly at her sides in an attempt to keep herself grounded.

Matter continued on, his voice growing more and more unsettling. "You know what I mean. Doesn't it get boring, day in and day out? No matter how hard I try, I can never completely get rid of the evil that plagues this world. Look at this child for example..." There was something so faraway about his voice as he lifted a hand to gently touch the child's face. The boy didn't move, but his face morphed into something akin to pure terror. "He is already a criminal with a stained soul, and he's only in _middle school._ Do you see what I mean? There's no way to be perfect at this job. The cards are never in our favor. We can fight and fight but for what? For more children like him to be produced that turn into villains. It's an endless cycle of chaos." He swung one hand out in a rapid gesture, the sunlight catching on the ends of his mask.

What the hell was he saying?_ Endless chaos?_ This was a _child!_ This was a kid who made one questionable mistake. This wasn't some supervillain plotting to end the world. This was a tiny, trembling boy on the verge of tears under the dark shadow of a hero.

Sonar had to speak up - this was wrong.

"That isn't true. Every day, every villain we fight, we come closer to a peaceful future. Yes it's an endless battle but heroes work was never meant to be easy. It's the price we pay for wanting good to prosper. And besides, he's just a child. Making one wrong choice doesn't mean he's a villain. People can always change."

Matter scoffed, nodding his head once. "Exactly. People change - they all change to corruption." Sonar's heart dropped to her stomach. He wasn't listening. Instead, he went on, one side of his nose curled upward in an ugly snarl that marred his otherwise handsome face. "Can't you see? This child is already corrupted. Who's to say that if we let him go free he won't make another bad choice? He might go steal from someone else the second we release him."

"But Matter," she began again, hoping against hope that she might be able to break through to him. She had to at least try, for this child's sake. The situation was quickly descending into something that might be truly dangerous. "You just have to look for the good in people...That's what heroes do."

The silence that followed was suffocating, making her lungs feel heavy and her sensitive ears ring with white noise. Matter stood facing away from her, tilting his head towards the child and she could only make up shadows along his sharp jawline. It was as if the quiet alley was now abuzz with neon signs that screamed _danger, danger, danger!_ She felt like she approaching a wild animal, ready to pounce at any moment.

Anything - _everything_ \- could go wrong. Numerous outcomes flashed through her mind at once but not one of them was good. She had to approach him delicately. '_Something is wrong, he's unstable, I have to be careful_,' she thought and with a moment's hesitation, breath sucking in to hold tightly in her lungs, she reached out and tried placing a nervous hand on his shoulder. But her hand froze midway to its destination. A heavy aura suddenly filled the air and jarringly, with a sick feeling pitting her stomach, she finally realized what was going on.

A strangled gasp left her throat, cold panic washing through her veins like an icy bath. Quickly swallowing her fear, Sonar lurched forward like a madwoman, black gloved hands extended to grasp to grab anything that she could - to maybe yank Matter back to reality.

But he was too far from her reach.

In all of her years of following Matter's work and obsessing over his quirk and his victories - even becoming a member of his fanclub at the hero cafe down the street from her high school, - she had never once witnessed or heard an account of him using his powers on a person. Until now. Her disbelieving gaze watched as his bare hand came into contact with the child still cowering on the ground. The boy's molecular structure shifted to liquid, coursing wildly in a disgusting, flesh-colored waterfall, and all Sonar could do was openly stare at the horrifying sight. She felt her mouth drop open in a silent gasp of horror, too stunned to even respond for fear of really tipping things over the edge.

_Oh shit, what do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!_ The ravenette clutched her sides helplessly as panic rolled over her body, thoughts swirling like the stormy depths of a whirlpool, threatening to yank her in and let her drown.

None of her training had prepared her for this. _'I mean, who expects these actions out of a hero?'_ Sonar almost laughed, a bitter chuckle rising in her chest, only to catch in her throat. For once as a hero, she felt so helpless, so useless. Just pointlessly standing here in the shaded alleyway, light splaying patterns over her frozen form, eyes glued to the scene in front of her. It was almost like an out of body experience, as if she was looking through someone else's perspective, hovering above it all in a strange, foggy, dreamy-like state.

_This isn't real,_ Sonar murmured to herself in silent mantra, shaking her head to clear away this nightmare but her mind was clouded over with shock. _No, no this isn't real life. This is fake, this is a joke -_ The slim woman told herself until suddenly her violet eyes met the dark, empty sockets of where the boy's should've been floating mid-air in a puddle of beige liquid that seemed to hover above the concrete and a sick feeling immediately hit her.

Nausea churned and rolled in her stomach, surging through her veins and -_'Fuck, I'm going to be sick,'_ Sonar panicked, slamming a hand over her mouth to stifle the broken sob that somehow worked it's way up. Those sockets, those haunting hallowed orbs were like a car-crash, horrid and unreal but she couldn't bring herself to look away, no matter how much she wanted to. A putrid smell of liquidation of skin hit her senses like a punch to the face, making her head spin with nausea and horror and she gasped, shaking fingers racking through her short locks and she silently prayed her wobbling legs wouldn't give out underneath her.

_What the fuck was this? What….just what?_

"What are you doing?" Sonar finally managed to choke out from underneath the hand covering her mouth. Her voice sounded more like a breathy whisper in the harsh silence of the alley, so disbelieving as she forced herself to make a step forward on shaky legs. Of course she didn't expect an answer to this, but she was hoping for something, anything from the other hero to no avail.

If he had even heard her, he hadn't voiced it. Matter stood motionless and silent in front of the concoction of a living being, his back turned towards her completely, blocking the view of his face and honestly, she wasn't sure she could take looking at the man's face right now. But she had to move, had to do something. Had to stop whatever the hell was going on here.

The woman forced one foot in front of the other, feeling like a baby learning how to walk for the first time and she would've scoffed if this were a different situation. Cautiously, she approached the two, eyes falling back on the boy until - _What?_ She gaped, hands reaching up to clutch her chest in surprise. It was as if the boy had never changed at all, the liquid state of his body was returning back to normal. Fluid shifted back into flesh and bone, and she audibly sighed in relief.

The ravenette's shoulders sagged, anxiety leaking out of her pores and replaced with sheer relief. Maybe he was just trying a really harsh tactic to scare the child from making another mistake? Even so, that was so wrong and messed up, leaving a sick feeling in her chest that just didn't sit right. No matter how much she hated to, she had to report this incident. Even if Matter was trying to help, she had to report his actions to her facilitator. Public safety always came first, despite if this was her favorite hero or not. Putting someone's life in danger just to scare them straight wasn't okay.

After a few beats of silence, she spoke up. Not entirely sure what to say in this situation. Could words even make up for this? But she felt like she had to do or say something to make things better.

"Okay, um, well, I think we can go now... S-sorry about all of this, kid... just please make good choices in the future", Sonar started, shifting back on the heels of her boots to turn away. She was ready to turn around, walk the other way towards the restaurant and just report the incident later. But there was a nagging at the back of her mind that told her to stop and stay put.

Things began moving in slow motion.

A weak breath sounded, so small it almost blended in with the thundering sounds of the city, but her extra-sensitive ears could hear it. It was so loud and overpowering, aching down to her joints and rattling her bones. A whimper - it was a whimper - a plea for help. She realized too late and jolted into action, all thought wiped from her mind except for saving the child. The boy stared at her with those large, sorrowful eyes and something deep down broke in her heart. Sonar found herself skidding to her knees, the tights of her suit barely holding up against the rough concrete of the sulled dirty ground, but she didn't care. She needed to at least catch him, and she managed it, the boy crumpling into her arms like a puppet with cut strings.

Sonar stared down, shaken to her very core as she cradled the boy's head in her lap, and for once, the usually stoic hero found tears welling up in her eyes, clouding her visor and distorting her vision. There, under the creeping moonlight of a dirty alleyway of downtown, she watched the light fade from this poor child's eyes. The warmth of his hands clinging to the fabric of her bodysuit in a vice-like grip of fear and Sonar let out a thick, watery sob.

_'I have to help - I have to do something. Please, please hold on, just -'_

"Why? How… how could you!?" she screamed, gripping the boy as tightly as she could, as though she could hold him together. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when they landed on the source of his pain. Thick trails of blood-stained her hands, leaking into her shorts and staining the concrete below in a deep crimson. Her hands shook as she helplessly attempted to push her palms into the gaping wound, putting pressure to try and close off the giant, fist-sized hole in the middle of the boy's chest. A hole big enough for Matter's fist, the voice at the back of her mind hissed lowly, as a harsh reality check. He had shoved his hand through the kid's chest before his molecular structure fully repaired itself.

He shoved his fist through his heart….

The realization had barely crossed her mind before she felt the warm pressure of a large palm press against her back and she felt it, like clockwork, her own body began undergoing the same transformation. There wasn't anything she could do nothing to prevent it from happening as she felt herself change and all motor functions shut down, stalling as she felt, helplessly into a pit of her own undoing.

This was it, she thought with a broken silent plea and decided in that moment to let her eyes slip shut. If this was the last thing she could do, then so be it. She wanted control one last time. Her heightened senses boomed, thundering in her pulsing ears, picking up the sounds of her own ragged last breaths. Doomed to the same fate as the child she held in her arms - _her life ended by her hero's own hand._

And perhaps it was fitting that the last thing she heard was Matter's twisted voice, leaning in closely to what was left of her slowly dispersing body. The same voice she craved to hear in person for so long, wistfully hoping to have his attention, if only once.

_I guess this is that one time, huh..._

"You're wrong. There are no heroes. And if there isn't good to overpower the evil, then there's just evil."

There was a short pause.

_"That's our reality."_

* * *

Snow Bender and I are floored by how many of you have shown support and interest in this story. Like we can't even believe it, thank you all so so much! We're so overjoyed to share this idea with you all and try something a bit different than usual syocs, so thank you all for being willing to give us a chance.

**SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO MVP Iamadedicatedwriter **for their freaking amazing character introduction idea (coming up soon ;D). Seriously, they had the greatest idea for introducing a ton of characters and honestly we are so in love with it we just had to write it, so thank you dear! I am shaking just thinking of you guys reading it because it is THAT good. I am DYING **Iamadedicatedwriter** and it's your fault!

This intro was actually the first half of chapter one which is insanely long already, so we decided to go ahead and post this section as a separate update before the first chapter. It's been a while coming and we're sorry for the wait, but I just finished moving and have settled in with work and my new apartment closer to college so I'm finally free and Snow Bender (the light of my life and godly coauthor extraordinaire) is sick, so please send her get well vibes, everyone! :(((

We are closing UA Male submissions, but every other spot is still open for characters. Villains, teachers and all are also open, but we will be picking those a bit later just to keep everything more orderly. We are so excited for this, and can't wait to introduce these fantastic characters to you all. Damn this will be a crazy ride, so please fasten your seatbelts! xD Chapter One is on the way! :D

_Yours truly,_

_Snow Bender & Lotus_

**Reviews -**

**Starblitz1312:** Yeeeeess, Yuna is my child! We love her and are so excited that you sent her to us!

**ssjzohan:** You are so welcome, aww! *cries* I hope the fic doesn't disappoint!

**Justsomeguy49:** I'm so glad that we found something that interests you! I hope the camp idea lives up to your expectations.

**SirSym:** Thank you for the compliments! I agree I haven't seen a ton of stories where we actually get to see other original high schools from the manga/anime, so I'm excited to delve more into them and explore the different concepts.

**PSISomething:** Umm yes we definitely did have to go out of our way to thank you! I can't say enough how grateful I am for your suggestions and lovely PMs. You always make my day! Thank you. :)


	4. Introduction - Ch 0 Pt 2

**(WARNING: **UNEDITED CHAPTER. I might delete and repost. Sorry guys for the rushed mess! See author notes below.**)**

**Intro - Chapter 0 Part 2**

**(May 20th, 8:39 a.m.)**

"_Heroes suck! Shut down UA!"_

"_All Might is dead, and so are heroes!"_

"_What the hell makes a hero anyways? It's just some flashy wannabe in a costume who only cares about themselves! This is no hero!"_

"_Yeah! Put an end to heroes! It's all your fault, UA!"_

"_They produce monsters. They're responsible for the downfall of heroes! All of the hero schools should be closed!"_

_Monsters...Producing monsters? Was that what they were doing? No..Heroes weren't monsters. But people_ _could turn_ _**in **__to monsters._

A thick cloud of tension settled over Nezu's private conference room, while the occupants all awkwardly perched on plush couches under the soft lighting of the formal room. Nezu's conference room was only used for special hostings or private affairs that did not require the attendance of other school faculty, which explained the room's relatively intimate size and, _too posh to be comfortable for Aizawa's tastes_, furnishings. The walls were painted in a light grey, with the skinny trim in white. There were two identical couches, both in tacky fabric that reminded him of an elderly woman's home of blue and white, with a large rich wood stained circular coffee table in the middle, separating both sides of the room. A skinny silver floor lamp was placed in the corner of the room farthest from the door, with a strange oval-shaped white lampshade. The only other piece of furniture being an empty grey ornamental chair in front of the giant cascading row of windows, bathing the room in bright sunlight and giving them the perfect view of the surrounding city miles below.

Aizawa hadn't been in attendance to many of these affairs but apparently, it was necessary to pretend not to acknowledge the frantic throng going on just below to no avail, if the others postures were anything to go by. Although, he was not meeting these requirements as well as his fellow associates. The chanting and screaming from outside was so loud that it was starting to give him a pounding headache, and that was saying something considering he was around Present Mic regularly. Which, that was torture enough, or so Aizawa thought.

But apparently god didn't agree, or the universe had something against him because it seemed like trouble flocked to him in droves.

Aizawa had tried helplessly for the last three hours of waiting on guests to show up to block out the sounds coming from the rioting mob just three stories below at UA's most powerful defense system, 'the wall' separating them from the raging citizens outside in the streets. Despite the defenses being top of the line, it didn't seem as if that included blocking the sounds of angry mobs…Honestly, he was even starting to find himself questioning things... Maybe some of it was true? Or the chants were just driving him delusional. Either explanation could be possible but both left a horrible taste in his mouth and an unsettled restlessness pitting in his stomach.

He couldn't even find it in him to squeeze in a nap in his sleeping bag for the onslaught of sounds hammering against his skull, and sending him down a spiraling path with each yell piecing louder and louder into his ears. What, when they weren't angrily yelling from the sidewalk, they were smacking their signs on the wall in hopes to gain attention. And that was difficult to ignore, even through the thick bullet-proof glass.

_I do not get paid enough to deal with this shit, not early in the morning on a Saturday, at least. Or really, any day of the week for that matter…_

From the corner of his eye, Aizawa cautiously watched Nezu's small frame obliviously sipping his cup of freshly brewed tea as if he didn't have a care in the world. The rodent's small paws gripped tightly around the dainty handle of the fine china and the grin on his face was almost unnerving, doing nothing to calm the dread that clenched Aizawa's chest and instead, made him even more uncomfortable.

_What a little actor, _Aizawa almost huffed, rolling his eyes while lifting his free hand under his opposite elbow propped up on the arm of the couch. That man-er...mouse deserved an award for his constant performance of polite unfeeling. He might be able to convince the other occupants in the room, however, he couldn't play Aizawa that easily. No matter how much Nezu wanted to pretend and hide his emotions, Aizawa could make out his rigged shoulders from underneath his crisp white dress shirt paired with twitching little furry ears which were a sure sign that he couldn't completely block the noises out either but was hell-bent on keeping that to himself. Oh no, he wouldn't dare acknowledge it, for then Nezu would have to face an entirely new reality by actually matching down there and doing something which Aizawa wished he would. But he wouldn't and Aizawa didn't want to agree with him, but he sadly did because he couldn't completely _blame _the public for their riot. They were justified beyond means to react as they please to current news and with the blows from the media lately, it was only a matter of time before they stormed the school anyways, Aizawa thought. They trusted heroes, they trusted them to watch over society, and they were miserably failing on their job.

Everything was just getting _worse_.

Day by day, something else came to light and added fuel to the already massive wildfire spreading across the country. There were honestly times when Aizawa thought of quitting at this rate and going back to working as an underground hero full-time, but he just couldn't. Even though he wanted to so badly, he knew it was times like these when they really needed heroes to pull together to find a solution to this mess and not let the gems in the rough go unpolished.

He squeezed his eyes shut with a heavy residing breath of acceptance, mild irritation still pulsing through his veins. Whether he wanted to or not, he was needed here, at his new position of vice-principal of UA. They had to salvage all of the potential they could, now more than ever. The lighthearted days of heroes were fading away into a new, darker era and with the loss of the symbol of peace, it would only be a short matter of time before heroes were written entirely out of society.

Honestly, that was something Aizawa was hyper-aware of lately, keeping him up at night in the wee hours where anxiety thrived, and with that possibility coming to the forefront of everyone's minds, he didn't even want to think about a new reality like that… stuff of _nightmares._ Absolute nightmares. Directionless quirk users all fighting the chain of life for primal power. _No._ No, they needed order, needed a system to keep history from repeating itself and only having heroes was what separated them from chaotic madness.

Leaning back against the blue checkered pattern of the couch cushions, he let the ugly fabric caress his tired, aching body, sticking out like a sore thumb in his entirely black attire - an old ribbed black sweater and equally black cargo-pants and combat boots. And Ignoring the rude narrowed glare from the ethereal light pink irises surrounded by a pool of black from the woman sitting pin-straight across from him on the adjacent couch, he glared openly down at the stupid picture that seemed to taunt him. The magazine in his grip staring back and he felt the paper crumple angrily in his grip with ever shift of his hands.

'_Hero my ass,_' he shorted bitterly before carelessly tossing the magazine onto the stained wood of the low-set coffee table, barely registering the crackling noise that followed when the laminated paper hit the surface.

Aizawa skimmed the catchline ran in big, bold black font, branding it into his memory like a tattoo, **"Next Pro-hero in scandal, caught with Prime Minister's second wife! See page 26. This week's issue, we also explore pro-hero Fire Drill's trial for assisting with a plan for villain breakout as new evidence appears in court. Page 50. All Might - The last true hero, gone for good. A look back at his long line of hero work as the Symbol of Peace on the one year anniversary of his death. Page 58. And check out the lively new heroine, Sugar Plum's new social media pages where she gives the scoop on live-streaming hero work! Page 13."**

It was truly astonishing how the public could still trust scum like these to serve as heroes to society. This issue had yet another unruly scandal in the mix of hundreds that were piling on endlessly lately, only increasing frighteningly high in the last year. After All Might was placed in critical care in Tokyo Medical Center two years ago, the rate of good, worthy heroes seemed to plummet as villain rates were at an all-time high.

Oh, but shitty heroes seemed to be the rage nowadays if the media had anything to say about it.

An overly loud fake cough brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality and he paled, remembering just who his company was and his shoulders slumped farther into the cushions, wishing the furniture would swallow him. All eyes fell on the almost completely transparent body of the woman in question and Aizawa could feel himself aging with every passing second.

_Oh what now_, he blanched, with an exasperated slow roll of his eyes and deep inhale of breath.

Kurage Chuya couldn't have been more apparent in her restlessness. With her petite pink lips pursed together in irritation, sticking out against the light blue, transparency of her see-through flawless skin, _which it pretty much was_ considering Aizawa could eyeball the worn-out cushions through her barely covered torso in a white lace tube-top. - _Excuse me, disturbing -_ She was young, but not more than a few years younger than himself, probably in her thirties, not quite reaching forty yet. She wore a large deep pink bow tied around her nearly transparent neck classing with the light blush pink of her long, flowing wavy tendrils of fluttering tentacles for hair, all in different lengths but equally flowy thin wisps cascading over her shoulders and down to her thin waist. She would be objectively attractive, the older man mused, if that snooty look wasn't plastered all over her expression.

The ethereal woman crossed her legs, posture straight against the couch in a lady-like manner, sheer elegance radiating from her who would put any person to shame. Ah, _and then she opened her mouth._

"Well, it looks like everyone is present, thanks to Amon's lateness that kept us waiting," Chuya started, shooting a haughty stink eye at said man in question causing him to blanch. Amon blinked blankly for a few seconds, before dark eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline, blue eyes simultaneous widening incredulously as if in complete shock she had the audacity to voice her opinions and '_damn, this is going to be a long morning_…' The raven-haired hero sighed in defeat.

Aizawa watched as the younger hero's grip tightened on his arm of the chair, mocha fingers digging deeply into the plush furniture and honestly Aizawa had to commend his ability to hold himself back.

"I already apologized for the wait. I had an emergency call to respond to that I couldn't just ignore. But my _apologies_," Amon sputtered and Aizawa finally noticed the weird tinge in his accent, the slight thickness of his Japanese that was a tell-tale sign of a foreigner.

_Ah, this must be the past student I've heard so much about_, the ebony-haired hero noted but if anyone else recognized him they did not seem to show it. As the only acknowledgment from the woman was a snarky '_hmph_,' as she tilted her nose up in the air like a prude. Strange, almost transparent arms moving to defiantly cross over her small chest before she shifted her line of sight to Nezu. Immediately, like a light switch, her wild black and pink gaze seemed to soften as she plastered a polite tight-lipped smile on her pretty face and Aizawa almost had to blink back from the whiplash.

_How childish._

"If we could get on to business rather than reading that filth, I'd appreciate it. I'm running on a tight schedule. You do understand Nezu-sama and um..Aizawa was it?" Kurage Chuya, Seiai Academy's headmistress quipped, lifting a webbed hand into the air and swishing it around in an offhand signal, the movement causing the strange tendrils growing out of her head to bounce around.

Her voice a soft mix of bubbly floaty tones, reminding Aizawa somewhat of a fish underwater, if one were to actually understand a fish… those ethereal eyes quickly shifted from Nezu over to him and whatever respect she held for the other did not apply to Aizawa as well. For the look in her eyes quickly switch to a strange glint, bridging on dislike. And well, Aizawa mimicked the sentiments, frowning deeply back at her and his headache seemed to only intensify.

_What is her quirk? The ability to annoy someone just from breathing? _He scoffed. He wasn't here for pleasantries and couldn't care less about someone he didn't know. His only interest was interacting with her long enough to create a solution for the wellbeing of the children, and that's all that really mattered where he was concerned. The ebony-haired man had only seen Kurage once or twice before, if he could remember, at some kind of hero function for youth. But from what he had seen of her, he wasn't entirely sure he liked her company.

_Um, yeah no - scratch that. He didn't like her company at all._

Thankfully, Nezu was there with him to handle all situations that were above Aizawa because if it was up to him, he wouldn't have called these people here in the first place. Why they couldn't try to figure out a solution on their own, he couldn't understand but at the same time, he could get why Nezu was doing this. So if anything, he could bite his tongue and play along for the sake of humanity.

'_The kids, that's all that matters - the children._' He silently muttered, hands clenching at his sides, reminding himself over and over like a broken mantra to keep from throwing himself out of the meeting room windows. However, Aizawa was silently grateful that it seemed like everyone in the room was ignoring him or thought they were too good to acknowledge someone who wasn't on their own level of authority, meaning he did not have to interact and instead that was left in the hands of a very capable mouse.

Nezu bowed his head politely to the woman from the cushion next to Aizawa, careful not to spill the contents of his dainty teacup on his finely pressed black slacks. Unphased as usual, and overly-equipped for dealing with ticking-timebombs that they called students so it only made sense he could keep the woman at bay. _S_nooty principles aren't really that different from children anyways.

"Of course Kurage-sama. I wouldn't want to keep you longer than necessary, especially since I know this meeting was quite unexpected," Nezu paused as Kurage nodded, her tight-lipped expression never once leaving her face while crossing her ankles together, so her white pencil skirt would keep from riding up her thin legs, showing off her open-toed pink heels.

He slowly turned his attention to the rest of the occupants in the room, all gathered around the prim furniture with either cups of tea or coffee in hand, black beady eyes flashing with a knowing look that made Aizawa want to throw himself out of the window for the millionth time today.

_Hmm, maybe I should start a drinking game with how many times I want to toss myself to my death during this meeting?_ The ebony-haired hero bitterly thought before hiding his frown behind another gulp of coffee, grimacing as scalding liquid burning its way down his throat.

"I want to thank everyone for arriving here today on such short notice and agreeing to a meeting. I know this might have been an inconvenience for some of your schedules but I appreciate it, nonetheless."

"Oh no prob, Nezu-kun! I'm more than honored to be invited to UA! I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that. It might not be Ketsubutsu, but it's not that bad of a school. I also have to scope out the competition, I can't let my rivals get the best of me," Pro-hero Eclipse excitedly exclaimed from next to Kurage Chuya, his tone overly squeaky and excitable for such a giant man and Aizawa felt himself cringe at the use of the cutesy 'Kun.' He was practically vibrating in his seat, for what reason he could be so ecstatic, Aizawa wasn't sure. But this man couldn't be normal considering no one in their right mind was this excited for a meeting.

_Couldn't this guy read the room?_ The tense air had been present all morning, looming over their heads like a misty veil but Eclipse seemed to either not be concerned about it or was blind to everyone else's seriousness.

Aizawa swallowed down an audible groan but couldn't hide the disbelieving widening of his eyes. _Oh god, what kind of people were even at this conference? _Nezu, for some ungodly reason, believes these people can help?

The man took up both remaining seats on the couch, completely oblivious to Kurage's annoyed glares his way when he leaned in too close to her tentacles with every bounce of his strong thighs against the cushions. He looked almost hilariously huge compared to the smaller woman, what with the tiny teacup in his fingers that he took giant gulps of, rather than sips, finishing off a cup in mere seconds as if it was a personal challenge. God, Aizawa felt himself sinking even further in his seat while dread dropped lowly in his stomach. He was already too much and the erasure hero hasn't even spoken once to the man. Not to mention the three-sizes too small Ketsubutsu Academy tank top plastered to his huge frame and exposing his entire tan, firm abdomen like a makeshift crop top had him thinking '_They let psychos monitor children now? He's an absolute lunatic_.'

He practically dwarfed everything in the room, and for some ridiculous reason, as if this would make his outfit formal and appropriate for a business meeting, he paired this with striped grey and black slacks that were also very tight on his massive legs, down to the hideous chunky black flip flops exposing his toes. His onyx hair was completely shaved, leaving a thin sheen of tiny hair follicles across his scalp, giving him a five-o-clock shadow that just barely saved him from resembling a delinquent, with hugely rounded, golden eyes practically bulging out of his skull.

It was a miracle that Best Jeanist hadn't been present for this meeting or the poor man would've possibly died from a heart attack at the sight. But maybe, Aizawa pondered to himself, that wouldn't be such a terrible outcome…

But this buffoon had to be the principle of Ketsubutsu. Taking over just a year prior once their previous one retired after working there almost thirty years, for some reason beyond Aizawa, he'd been hired as the replacement and agreed to take on less hero work while in office to make time for his new requirements. Although, word was that he had a habit of bringing students with him on patrols when they were not allowed out on official hero business. However, this never stopped Eclipse from doing as he pleased.

"Oh, yes, thank you, Eclipse. We're glad to have you on board," Nezu smiled.

_Speak for yourself_. Aizawa mentally grunted as his grumpy semi-permanent frown deepened. One day he was sure he'd have wrinkles from making such a face so much according to Mic but since when did he care about skincare? At least, not while so many idiots were around to cause this particular look.

Eclipse eagerly nodded his head with every word from beloved UA's principle, taking the bate very easily and Aizawa held in a laugh at his sheer ridiculousness. _Well, Nezu does know how to work with children being a principal and all. He didn't get this title for nothing._ No, despite being a rodent mutant, Aizawa could appreciate his communication skills and ability to charm almost anyone including man-children like pro hero, Eclipse.

"So, from my understanding hero schools are facing quite the crisis. Is this why you've called us together?" The last person in the room spoke and honestly, Aizawa had almost forgotten the other man was even there from how silent he had been except for his persistence apologizing when he arrived an hour late to their makeshift meeting. Gazes fell to the other side of the small rodent to the slim figure of Amon Tokunaga pushing his brown, tortoiseshell, circular glasses up the slight bridge of his nose, a haughty look in his bright blue stare, one that screamed '_let's get on with this,_' as he wrinkled his nose in distaste towards an ever oblivious Eclipse picking interestedly at a loose strand on an arm of the couch and Nezu seemed to get the hint.

_Wow, couldn't any of them get along?_

"As sharp as I had expected you to be, Tokunaga," Nezu let out a faint chuckle before nodding to the younger male, eager to keep a fight from breaking out with all of these entitled heroes in the room. It honestly felt more like corraling spatting children or, better yet, a herd of wild animals that at any second would snap and all hell would break loose, tearing each other limb from limb. And he didn't doubt that possibility.

Amon was by far the youngest at only twenty-nine, and the last figurehead of the gathered schools, Shiketsu's Headmaster. Although, his age definitely didn't affect his demeanor, as reminded by the way he carried himself, head held high and posture as straight as a board against the seat backing. He shifted on the tacky couch, moving to cross his spindly legs over one another, clasping his hands unceremoniously in his lap where Aizawa could only get a quick flicker of the weird fine lines on his palms before hiding them away. His rich, mocha skin seemed to almost pixelate under the heavy fluorescent lights, creating a weird bluish shimmer over him that brought out the blue of his startling eyes, his boxy pupils as white as the surrounding depth of his irises.

Everything about the young man was striking, from his thick lightly curled raven hair that wisped over his ears, his high and wide-set cheekbones and slightly turned down almost pressed in nose, down to his boyish good looks of his half Japanese, half Egyptian heritage. He was rather handsome, this fact only heightened by the pin-stripped trousers on his thin legs, polished brown ankle-boots, and his tailored, salmon-hued silky button-down.

"Likewise, Mr. Nezu," The raven-haired man clipped back, thin lips lightly pulling into a tight smile of politeness. Although the action almost appeared strained by first glance, it was obvious by the faint gleam in his eyes that Amon respected the smaller male which counted for something. "So, shall we continue?" Amon mused, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow to the rodent at his side while simultaneously sweeping his gaze over the room of nods.

He had the room in agreement, that much was for certain and Aizawa almost wanted to thank the other for finally pushing them towards some progress. Almost though. _Just almost_… As if he'd verbally give the young male the satisfaction of gratitude. Aizawa held back a shudder at the thought. Yeah no, he didn't need yet another self-centered hero's ego inflated.

Amon had been an exchange student from Egypt several years ago, surpassing the limited number of school rankings in the country and already far beyond that of the rankings of his country. Rumor was that he wanted to test himself and that he did, earning a full-ride scholarship at tons of top hero schools in Japan and having the pick of the litter at his disposal. He had attended Shiketsu as a teen, graduated at the top of his class and was immediately offered a position at the school although he declined and instead spent most of his twenties as a pro under Sir Nighteye's agency. After Nighteye's death two years prior, Aman had taken claim as Headmaster and had served as such since.

"So, as Tokunaga figured out, I have called you all here for the um..._detrimental_ state of hero schools in Japan," Aizawa watched as small rodent hands carefully placed down a delicately painted teacup on the matching saucer sitting on the low-set coffee table.

Everyone was silent as Nezu slid his small frame down from the hulking couch, and Aizawa couldn't help but compare the action to a toddler trying to figure out how they could manage while their feet dangled and kicked back and forth in the air before his polished shoes finally hit the floor and everyone seemed to collectively sigh in relief. He could tell the others shared the same line of thought with Chuya raising a translucent eyebrow and Amon hiding a smile with a cough. But, thankfully, no one voiced this aloud.

"Yes, that much is for certain," Chuya retorted, ethereal face scrunched up in thought and those hauntingly intense eyes glued to the large, floor-to-ceiling windows adjacent to the furniture. Webbed hands smoothed down her skirt absentmindedly, picking at invisible dust particles that were obviously vacant of the pristine white of her attire.

"As you know, our schools have all been subject to scrutiny as of late and have come to a very chaotic rivalry - competition, if you will, among not only our students but the public as a whole. This rivalry is causing unnecessary tension and heat with students and putting a strain on the hero society in general. Heroes shouldn't be focusing on which school is the best, but rather who is doing the most good and how to improve public statistics. We are creating heroes who are no longer deserving of the title, and that is the truth where current-day news are concerned."

Nezu made a valid point. A more than valid point, really. Things were bad, really really bad, both for the public and for the schools' reputations. Heroes were no longer being considered heroes and were gaining even more hatred from the public eye. Schools were relying too much on one-upping each other and producing the most popular 'trendy' heroes to up ratings as more of a selfish joke than a hero. They only cared about themselves, about their popularity and fame, and it was starting to show. Ever since the sports festival just two years prior, with Midoriya's class skyrocketing the views and ratings, fame had become one of the most top priorities of young students and heroes alike. Although this wasn't the only problem. Oh no, if anything, this little issue was small compared to the current turmoil bubbling under the surface.

A thick silence followed the man's little speech, and Aizawa could physically feel the invisible heavy presence looming over all of their heads. He anxiously shifted against the couch, letting the springs piece him in the back uncomfortably, but not daring to draw any unwanted attention to himself.

_Ugh, why am I even here? As a silent party to some idiotic show?_

Something uncomfortable wounded up in his chest, twisting and tugging uncomfortably and looking around at the other faces in the room, filled with pregnant silence, Aizawa was half a mind to promptly excuse himself. _This isn't going to be good_. Groaning, he slumped down even farther in his seat, just as the thread of tension snapped and voices suddenly filled the space.

In seconds, Chuya's tentacle-like mane rose at attention, floating around her almost like a protective veil as they quickly shifted into sharp spear-like ends, flaring out like a maelstrom of knives threateningly poised at the ready. The woman wrenched herself into a pin-straight position on the edge of her seat, posture guarded.

"I don't think you have any right to say that about my students. You don't know what kind of values we teach! My girls are perfectly capable, if not, wholesome, pure heroines!" She exploded, sputtering to herself as her eyes flashed wildly, strangely sharp teeth flashing under the fluorescent lights from underneath snarling lips.

Her pretty appearance morphing so fast into an angry beast that if anyone so much as looked at her wrong, Aizawa wouldn't be surprised if she jumped them, tangling them up in her menacing tentacles. She was breathing so rapidly that her chest heaved as if she had run a hundred miles, small nostrils flaring, almost as much as her temper, along with the gills that suddenly exposed themselves from under the ribbon around her neck.

Eclipse, the bumbling idiot's mouth gapped in and out like a fish, struggling to find words as the woman at his side snarled endless strings of insults, each more filthy than the last. Hmm, Aizawa thought, didn't Seiai raise little poised ladies? What an attitude for a hero. He rolled his eyes back into his skull, grip on the paper cup tightening in annoyance as chaos resumed around him. Yep, he disliked them more and more as time wore on and Aizawa silently prayed for a quick and easy release, maybe even death would be better than this.

'_I should've just stayed home today….'_

"Competition is healthy and necessary for growing heroes! The children need it to push them to do better, get stronger, go faster - to give it everything they've got! My school raises great heroes capable of taking down any villain and become successful members of society! They more than deserve the title of hero!" Eclipse busted out, face looking more offended as the seconds ticked on but the hurt in his eyes shone just as brightly as the sun as if Nezu had suggested he personally was the cause of the downfall.

"Nezu-chan, my rival... I can't believe this is what things have come to. Such a low blow from you."

The hulking man hung his head, and Aizawa could've sworn he witness a tear escape down his tanned cheeks. Then the large hero dramatically threw his body back against the couch cushions, causing Chuya to bounce up into the air a few inches, tentacle flying around her with a startled yelp falling from her lips and only briefly cutting off her snarls. Amon rolled his eyes behind his glasses, before taking a last sip of his drink and mimicking Nezu's earlier move of sitting his cup down on a discarded coaster on the coffee table.

"If anything, I think you make a valid point of criticism. Hero schools are not what they used to be, and our society is only getting...worse. Which, we will not discuss in great length in today's meeting, but I know you all understand my point. It's obvious that our hero population is growing more corrupt as the League of Villains also rises in numbers," Amon cut in, tone serious as he placed his chin in between his pointer finger and thumb, eyebrows scrunching up in consideration.

He was the only one that didn't seem completely offended by the rodent man's speech, unlike the other two fools in the room. Chuya, at his words, seemed to calm down her fizzling tentacles, giving the other a thoughtful look, but not without the strain of narrowing her eyes in slight distrust. Aizawa watched as Eclipse rose his shaved head in newly restored interest, his depressed self-wallowing from before slowly forgotten as bright golden eyes blinked in confusion.

"That is a very top concern of both my academy as well as the public view. And with recent events, as you all know, things have taken a turn for the worse. I think it might be one of the only solutions we have right now to start uniting the public as well as our students. They are our future, and if the public decides to reject heroes full-on, then what else will we have left? We won't be able to take on the League if things get to that point, which they are about to be."

Nezu absentmindedly nodded to himself while he paced the floor, paws clasped behind his back in a stern manner that was too familiar to Aizawa and he almost groaned allowed, resisting the urge to jump out the windows and escape what was to be an unpleasant conversation, no doubt. He knew this face, knew that posture..._Hey, it couldn't be that far down from the ground, right? If I'm lucky, it would just be a clean break…_

'_He's definitely thinking, trying to formulate some kind of questionable solution here,_' Aizawa sighed, slumping down even lower on the couch until his scarf wraps covered the scowl on his face. Maybe if he just pretended he wasn't here long enough, he could somehow phase into the couch and disappear? That was a nice thought at least.

Finally, the rodent came to a stop in front of the windows, large glossy blue glass frames dwarfing his tiny body and made him look even smaller to Aizawa in the moment. Much like all of the problems of the world, being so vast for one tiny individual to solve - yet, here he was, facing them head-on like the erasure hero knew he would. At the end of the day, that was principle Nezu after all. And knowing this, when the well-dressed rodent opened his mouth Aizawa forced down a choked groan of dread.

_Is it too late to quit my job?_

* * *

What's this? Another update!? Haha, yes we did decide to give you part two of the intro before we start getting our gear ready for camp! I wanted to introduce our principles to you all so you can get a feel who's running the show here.

Thank you guys so so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows. Like wow, I'm so freaking astonished by people actually caring about this story. Thank you! I would've never imaged it would gather this much support. Just thank you all so much. Your reviews have fueled my motivation to keep updating quickly, so I hope this makes up for all of your lovely comments! I read all of them and I seriously scream at like every single review xD I hope this horrid chapter doesn't scare you all away... This is not my best work by far but I didn't want to trouble Snow Bender with writing and editing and all right now.

This chapter is not edited by my wonderful and sweet co-author because she has been in the hospital for her kidneys and I did not want to worry her with something like this. So I apologize if it's horrible and messy af. Sorry you guys! So please everyone, wish her well because she's going through so much right now. Love you, Snow Bender! Please focus on your health and stop worrying about us! You are way too pure for this world. :'( Just focus on resting and getting well again. Nothing is more important than your health!

**Here it is guys: STUDENT SUBMISSIONS ARE OFFICIALLY CLOSED**! I'm finalizing the remaining spots on the cast list and I'm so excited to pick the last ocs we need. I have quite a few to go through before making final decisions, but I'm getting on that right now. Villains and teacher spots are still available but I haven't started going through many of those because I wanted to get students chosen first. Thank you all for submitting. There were tons of fantastic OCs sent in and I really wish I could use you all, which is the only awful thing :( But seriously thanks everyone for taking the time to participate!

_Yours truly,_

_Snow Bender & Lotus_


	5. Ch 1 - Welcome to our program!

**Chapter One - Welcome to our program!**

"_According to the census of crime statistics, villains are at an all-time high. Villain sightings have been more prevalent in the last two years than fifty years ago when statistics were at the previous record high of 49%! What do the heroes have to say about this? We'll find out after this short commercial break where Yuki goes live at-"_

_Eh._ It's the same boring reports, nothing exciting or new to listen to. _Why is it always the same? _The child thought with a roll of his eyes, staring at the woman reporter on the TV screen through the glass of the shop window. She was average looking, he supposed, with short black hair, slim features, and dark brown eyes. The only unique thing about her was her hands that seemed to glow a faint pale green when she lifted them to tuck a strand of hair behind an ear, and even that was..._underwhelming at best._

_She's nothing special. _The boy quietly let out a hum of disappointment before casting his eyes down. _Nothing different._ He had seen it all before.

The boy then lifted an ice cream cone to his lips and shooting out a tiny pink tongue, and he took a quick lick of the sweet strawberry and matcha goodness. Taste buds immediately burst in delight, and he held back the noise of approval that threatened to make itself known. The soft drabble of the wall of television screens lining the display windows tuned out as the boy disinterestedly turned his back away from the reporter and towards the chaos of people flooding the area. Treat still occupying his time as he subconsciously licked the cold substance.

_I'll find something, hopefully. _He thought with another quick taste of ice cream.

He observed as people passed by, seemingly looking over his existence in front of the electronic store. Eyes roaming over the crowd blankly, almost as if they were truly the ones that were in his imagination and they could've been, but he wasn't sure. The child didn't quite reach four feet in height, but his wild platinum curls gave him a few extra millimeters he was proud of. He couldn't have been older than six or seven at most, maybe even younger - but the soft look of his cherub cheeks and fluffy hair didn't meet the sharp disdain of his rounded lavender eyes.

Ice cream cone still occupying his tongue as he clutched the waffle cone in the tight grip of his small hands, careful not to let the sweet substance not to drip on his shorts or button-down shirt, holding it out straight as a green drop almost plopped down on his sneakers as a 'tsk' hissed out from his lips, frown etching over his tan face.

Letting out a bored sigh, the white-haired boy blankly stared across the street from the tall buildings of the shopping district to the fairly crowded park center. The grassy terrain amongst the bustling city was littered with people, all swirling colors of the blue ocean currents wiping by the safety fence, blooming flowers and sturdy trees jutted from the ground and mixed with the rainbow of hues. Some dog walkers, joggers, couples were enjoying the beautiful weather and even groups of children romped over the playground equipment across from the ocean railing.

_But no one is interesting today…_ He frowned. The disappointment settled low in his stomach and was just about to turn around and walk away before his ears quickly perked up at a small group of kids playing close to the gardens area._ Oh. What's this?_ The boy's lavender gaze trailed to the three boys and if their posture was anything to go by, the group was in the midst of an argument of some sort, and immediately his small frown lightened to a blank expression, interest shooting through him and his body followed suit, almost perking up to attention.

_If I strain, I can just vaguely pick up their conversation._

"You play the villain this time, Daichi. It's my turn to be the hero!" A chubby brunette shouted, pointing an accusatory finger in the direction of a taller and slimmer raven-haired boy. At the exclamation, Daichi had the audacity to look appalled, his freckled face scrunching up with a disbelieving scowl.

"What?! No! I don't want to be the villain! Why doesn't Ena do it?" Daichi stomped his foot on the grass, furrowing his brows as the other two boys shared a glance with one another. The pudgy kid and the other pasty brunette, Ena, both frowned, eyes locked in a silent conversation before turning back to the taller. Ena crossed his skinny arms over his wiry chest and gave the other a contemplating look one would give a child. A look he himself knew too well.

"Daichi, it's your turn. You have to be the villain, and we'll be the heroes. It's only fair. You got to be the hero the last two times."

The lavender eyed boy continued to silently eat his ice cream, observing the three from across the street and almost raised an eyebrow when the Daichi kid seemed to process the other's words finally. He watched as the taller blew up, gritting his teeth together as he lifted clenched fists at his sides.

"Well yeah! I'm more hero material than both of you." Daichi roared, and the two boys silently stared at the display. "You guys are lame anyways. I'm going to play with Chiyo and Isao. At least they're cool!"

Daichi spat towards the boys before storming off across the grass like a coward. The other two, to his interest, were visibly upset at the other's explosion. Ena frowned and let out a long sigh, turning to the pudgy boy at his side who shared almost an identical expression on his rounded face.

"Umm, I guess we can play without Daichi...He's no fun when he gets like that." Ena resided, shoulders slumping as his friend nodded in acknowledgment.

_Hmm..he's not wrong. He is more powerful than the other two. _The child mused as he blinked after the retreating figure, eyes glued to the red t-shirt on his back in silent wonder at the entire display. _Why were the two upset again?_ His head tilted to the side to resemble a confused puppy for a split second before he caught himself and straightened back out with a short shake of his head.

"Kenji-chan?"

The sudden call of his name had the child startling out of his thoughts, and he quickly turned towards the source of the voice. Red eyes fell on his own gaze, locking together and seemingly spurring the woman's advances. He watched as she shuffled around civilians, toned physic standing out starkly among shoppers. Her blue hair twisted into a braided bun, equally blue baby bangs brushing over her dark mocha-hued forehead. A stylish red trench coat, almost the same shade as her eyes brushed over her toned thighs and clung to her slim muscular frame, exposing long dark legs that tapered into white and red sneakers on her feet. She stood out like a beacon amongst the otherwise average people, and he could easily pick her out anywhere.

Kenji didn't move from his spot near the storefront as the young woman approached him, pushing her way through shoppers until she finally made it to his side. He looked up as she stopped next to him, just in time to see the expression on her pretty, intense face. A small pang of something...some strange emotion he couldn't fathom hit him low in the gut at the slight frown on her face.

_What was that? Am I dying?_ He breathed, blinking in surprise at himself and feeling like an idiot, resisting the urge to crush the ice cream cone forgotten in his hands. With a shaky quiver, he shook it away just as quickly as it came trying to forget the weird emotion was even there. But she was wearing it again. Why did she always look like that? He couldn't help but wonder but never voiced this question aloud. It wasn't that important anyway.

Kenji suddenly realized how long he'd been standing there, staring off into space for too long of a time and as a result, he could feel the concern wavering off of her in thick clouds and _had she been talking? _He mused in confusion, narrowing his eyes at the moving of her mouth but not catching the words._ Hmm. Stop it._ His brain supplied needlessly, monotonous words aimed at the woman and he hoped she could hear his thoughts, but to his distaste, that didn't seem to be the case, he realized as she awkwardly shifted her feet against the pavement.

The child then shifted what was left of his melting cone to his right hand before holding his left hand up in invitation. It didn't take a second for the woman to slip her hand into his, grip tightening around his small fingers and Kenji blankly licked at his ice cream as her warmth seeped through his palm.

The woman exhaled softly, letting out an almost exhaustive breath, "I figured you would be nearby. Please stop wandering off, would you? It's time to go to the meeting."

With a nod of his head, curls bouncing with the motion, Kenji let the woman lead him along the street until the park disappeared from sight.

* * *

**(August 10th, 8:58 a.m. Monday)**

"Looks like we're the last ones here. _Shit_," Marshmallow, the young adult heroine muttered the last word under her breath followed by a long, irritated sigh that could still be made out over the screeching of the vehicles breaks.

The bus driver pushed a large red button and the glass doors quickly retracted, opening them up to the outside world and Marshmallow seemed to make a show of sighing and fumbling with her seatbelt, curses falling from under her breath as she waved a sticky white hand through her equally white fluff of hair.

Esmerelda watched as the woman stood up from the front seat of the bus, a mysterious squishing noise following from her abrupt movements that thankfully no one commented on as the occupants of the bus fell silent. And the heroine didn't seem even to notice, more preoccupied in shoving her phone and headphones still blaring heavy metal music into the pocket of the pink fanny pack fastened around her narrow waist, hanging over skinny black jeans. Once the object was out of the way, the black-clad heroine gestured towards the open doors of the bus exit, her face a blank deadpan and as white as a sheet, matching her equally white poofy hair that resembled a poodle gathered together in a large bun at the crown of her head.

She did indeed look like a marshmallow and Esmerelda couldn't help but find the pro-hero very soft and cute looking for someone who always dressed in a gothic style, with her black skinny jeans, too-large for her body black hoodie, and black boots. Her bright pink fanny pack was rumored to be a gift from someone but no one really knew the exact origin. But of course, the little smile of knowing on the teen's face was kept a secret from the pro's attention.

Marshmallow was one of her favorite teachers, and the last thing she wanted to do was offend the woman. The raven-haired girl admired the older woman, had admired her since she became an instructor at Shiketsu. She really tried her best to show her the respect she deserved, but Esmerelda found it so difficult to really take the woman seriously with her squishy, almost childlike face, and short stature, a contrast to her quite stoic personality and extremely, uhh..particular style. She always had to fight the weird urge to mother her...

"Everybody off! Single file, please. Let's try to hurry. We have a long morning of stuff to do." Marshmallow huffed more to herself than anything else before stepping down the steps and stopping next to the doors to monitor. At the woman's lead, the students collectively rose from their seats and started to exit single file out of the vehicle, not wanting to upset the older woman.

'_Last ones?'_ The raven-haired girl rose an eyebrow in confusion, but nevertheless quickly stood up from the hard cushion of the black bus seat and waited her turn to exit while the excited chattering of her classmates filled the air. Marshmallow was a bit frazzled, and this, in turn, caused Esmerelda to feel a nervous buzz began to hum low in her chest as her heart surged.

Were they finally here then? Well, wherever _**here**_ was exactly.

Esmerelda gratefully followed after the row of peers descending the steps of the bus ushered by the pro hero. The raven-haired teen was careful not to ruffle the elegant ebony wings protruding from her back against the metal door frame in the rush of students trying to push through to finally get off the bus after such a long ride. Although, she couldn't blame their enthusiasm at making it to their destination because she was just as excited to be out and about. It's not that she particularly minded car rides of any sort, but it felt so good to actually make contact with the ground.

When the breeze touched her cheeks any nerves seem to just flow away with the wind. Warm rays from the sun hit against her groomed features and Esmerelda hummed pleasantly at the gentle feeling, tilting her face just slightly to get the same warmth on her pale cheeks. She couldn't hide the relieved smile on her face at finally stepping foot on solid ground as black loafer-clad feet touched the paved ground of a walkway.

She inhaled a big burst of fresh air, letting the sun warm her insides as a cool breeze flitted by, fluttering through her long pin-straight black hair and ruffling the material of her skirt against her thighs. _Ah, this is really nice_, she mused to herself in content.

"YEAH! WOOOO we're finally out! Now let's go get some hero stuff started!"

Esmerelda cracked a smile at the elated shouting of her schoolmates, tilting her head to watch as Inasa, the tall almost delinquent looking teen promptly jump down the stairs, skipping all of them to land onto the concrete below with a loud thud of his clunky boots and with a small pause, he then fist-pumping the air with another shout.

Her yearmate made a big show of stretching out his body every which-a-way, doing some weird yoga poses before literally lifting a leg straight out in the air before, to her and everyone else's surprise, yanking it up to touch his boot to his nose. _Umm._ The raven-haired girl found herself gawking in shock, jaw unclenching as her mouth fell open on its own accord. _Someone is flexible...?_

The girl paused, blinking rapidly, mouth still agape as a tall boy appeared out from the bus, hopping down the steps with sure feet, casing his short shaggy indigo hair to bounce a little on top of his head. _Who is that? A new kid?_ Esmerelda thought to herself as he plopped down next to Inasa on the ground.

"What in the world, Inasa...Why do you have to be so extra? You're going to make the rest of us look bad," He exclaimed with a grin on his tanned face, causing the light sheen of freckles to wrinkle up. The sun glinted against the small gold hoop piercing hanging from his right ear, the color rivaling the bright yellow of his sharp eyes. He had a broad, defined build that could rival the well-known third years, both boys equally muscular with broad shoulders and relatively taller height, although, the younger had a bit wilder look to him.

And for yet a second time today the third year her mouth dropped open in shock when the boy suddenly attempted to make the same pose as the older, yanking his leg up by the thigh and oh lord...a loud snapping sound followed, and Esmerelda flinched at the sound. Ouch. Gosh, that had to hurt! The action didn't go as flawlessly as Inasa's for the other let out a pained yelp when his leg bent towards his face, following by another popping sound that _could not_ be a good sign, she worried.

Oh no, Esmerelda's eyebrows shot up in concern, a frown painting her face, _I hope he's alright..._

Though, her concern didn't seem to care over to her other classmates. Inasa suddenly screamed out a laugh, dropping his leg and doubled over, clutching his stomach as he shook with amusement, chuckles boisterously falling from his lips.

"HAHAHA, you should know by now not to challenge me, Tamori! Now you've pulled a muscle. So much for me making you look bad. You did that all by yourself!" The teen laughed before smacking the other on the back as Tamori dropped his leg to rub the back of his thigh. Inasa still awkwardly half standing in a crouched position and Esmerelda couldn't help but guiltily think it almost made him look constipated...Not a flattering position in the slightest. The sudden screeching that left his throat while somehow managing to take in huge breaths at the same time was pretty concerning as well. And the noise reminded her of a seal, paired off with the imagery of the male clapping his hands together wildly.

The indigo haired boy didn't seem to take it in the offense as he let out a chuckle of his own, casually smoothing down the deep navy school-issued button-up jacket back into place.

Esmerelda could literally feel the doneness of Marshmallow, as the teacher facepalmed at the boys' actions. The raven-haired teen held in a laugh, finally relaxing with a slump of her shoulders when it seemed like the Tamori boy was overall okay. The girl easily smiled, brushing a hand through her dark hair and letting out a fond snort that went unheard by the others.

Her classmates were something else. But she couldn't pretend like they didn't keep her entertained, well, when she wasn't corralling other students around like a duck to her ducklings. They did have to have supervision every now and then, and someone had to do it.

"Well, I guess I'm the extra one now, huh? _Extra sexy_, even with my muscle strain!" Tamori said a sly grin growing across his features with every word while he continued to rub his thigh through the navy fabric of his pants. Inasa chuckled in response, shaking his head at the younger before going off on some kind of overly enthusiastic tangent that, used to this behavior, Esmerelda easily tuned out.

_They're fine for now — nothing to worry about. _

The girl turned away from the two to take in the warmth of the sun against her skin and wings, feeling it seep in deeply through her pores and ahh, nice. She tilted her head, letting her eyes slip shut for a few seconds in comfort.

_Finally, the bus was starting to make my legs ache. She_ grinned, reaching out to casually smooth the school-issued dark navy ruffle-skirt down her thighs from where it had been riding up thanks to sitting on a bus for two hours. It was so nice to actually get out and stretch the ache out of her legs from being cooped up on a Monday morning. Speaking of which, was definitely out of the ordinary for the typical Shiketsu routine, she couldn't help but think.

_Actually_ \- face scrunching up in confusion, the raven-haired girl paused, turning to really glance around at the unfamiliar surroundings.

'_Umm…' _Esmerelda squinted against the bright blinding rays of the sun, '_Where are we?'_

Curious green eyes blinked at the sudden overwhelming amount of people surrounding her, and she resisted the urge to take a step back. Everywhere she looked, a giant crowd of teens shuffled around against the tide, and she felt herself anxiously bit down on her lower lip, sucking it gently between her teeth. She couldn't see another Shiketsu hat or uniform on any other group besides her own that were still filing out of the buses.

'_They are not my peers. What is this?'_

Esmerelda knew that the school had sent out letters to everyone's parents for a new program they would be participating in which required them to stay off of campus and into a newly established facility. But, really, that's all that they had been informed, and she wasn't sure why they were doing this or what this new program actually was. All of the details were vague, down to the location, overnight bags and luggage, and criteria.

People where everywhere and the noise level was just as chaotic. It was like a circus compared to the mostly calm, quiet atmosphere of the bus and Esmerelda was taken aback by the sheer difference, and all she could do was stand there and stare, openly gawking at the overstimulated of surroundings. There were huge buildings littering the grounds, looking as if they were just built with how clean the surfaces were. All tall and white, sprouting from the ground in random placements and some with towering rows of windows. A few tents were placed here and there, with tables underneath and rows of seating.

And honestly, the place reminded her more than anything else of a cross between an amusement park, state park, and school administrations. But what was very prevalent were the large trees and vegetation growing all around the area. The deep greens sprawling as far as the eye can see, along lengthy fields of grass. And whoa, she paused, narrowing her eyes just slightly at the glinting of crystal blue shimmering in the distance. _Was that some kind of lake?_ Sure enough, the thick lining of trees separated far behind the rows of buses, revealing a beautiful flow of water and _wow, _Esmerelda couldn't help the smile of awe that twinged her features, _so pretty._

_I wonder what else is here?_ She hummed to herself, turning around to scope out the grounds in the opposite direction and her eyes lingered on another interesting observation. There seemed to be some kind of sports field to the far right just in between a thicker multitude of trees, and if the sun hit just right, you could make out the blue silhouette of a mountainscape overlooking the entire vicinity.

_Whoa, what is this place? _The girl found herself blinking up at the strange almost translucent bubble that surrounded the entire place, jutting out of the fence tip. When the light glinted against it just right, the bubble seemed to pixelate. _Hmm, that's strange…maybe it's a force field or something? _Esmerelda wondered, lifting a hand to scratch under her chin before tossing a wayward strand of black hair over her shoulder.

Quickly her eyes drew downwards to the other occupants of the area. Although, the large number of people wasn't her only concern, but the variation of colors and uniforms that mutated the crowd caught her eyes.

She could feel it, the stares that shifted towards their group as the rest of her classmates calmly piled out of the buses. The fine hairs on her arms raised under the added ghost of eyes, all seemingly glaring at them. The well-known class of third years gravitated towards each other when Camie sauntered over, adjusting the hat over her wheat-colored hair.

"_What the hell. Isn't that Shiketsu or whatever? Inasa's school."_

"_Inasa? Like that third-year, who was a runner up for UA but denied his position?"_

"_Yeah, that one with the bunch of reject wannabe heroes. I heard they all have demented quirks, the whole lot of 'em. Why anyone would accept people like that to be heroes is beyond me."_

"_Then why are those freaks even here?"_

_What…? _

She wouldn't have been surprised if the sound of a pin dropping could be heard through the thick, suffocating tension in the air. All of the students, the hundreds of bodies surrounding them turned into towering blobs of color and eyes in her mind. It was almost funny, how even amongst a crowd they were alienated.

Outsiders who didn't belong.

Freaks, rejects.

_Shiketsu..._

An uncomfortable pit twisted low in her stomach at the words, and the raven-haired girl shifted her head away, hiding a deep frown behind the curtain of long dark hair and brim of her navy hat. Not only were they apparently at the same facilities as other schools, but schools that seemingly _hated them._

The girl found it hard to shake the discomfort from under scrutiny. The malice in those sneers and whispers made Esmerelda want to stretch her wings out and fly away…. Esmerelda gulped, swallowing down the lump that had formed in her throat. No, no, this isn't like her. '_Stop this. No more! You are a hero student. Don't think like that. What would the headmaster think?' _

Yeah, that's right, she nodded. Who cares what other people think? Esmerelda felt a small smile curve over her lips at the newfound positivity. She was strong, and a group of kids whom she didn't even know wouldn't make her think otherwise. Tilting her head back in silent acceptance, the girl willed down the negative feelings down as best as she could. _I can do this._ _Don't let some strangers words dampen your mood. There's no point. Remember what Sensei said. _The teen felt her fists tightening at her sides in determination, but god, it was hard. There was no denying that. It took a strong person to find the positive light for no one wanted to be hated. No one wanted to be judged for something they didn't even do. Yet here they were, sticking out like sore thumbs in the crowd under malicious gazes of roaring embers.

_That's okay, there's no reason to get upset._ She whispered to herself and turned fully around, hair wiping with her movements and almost subconsciously, she barely noticed the stretch of her wings in with serving as a shield to negativity.

Instead, the girl shifted towards her teacher, conducting the last few lingering students out of the bus and onto the pavement. She couldn't help but wonder '_how is sensei taking this?' _Curiosity flickering through her green eyes before her gaze landed on the woman at hand. The short lady scowled to herself, swatting at a swarm of bugs that seemed to be attracted to the sweet scent of sugar and vanilla wafting off of her while the last students exited the bus.

"Dammit...I will DESTROY YOU ALL!" Marshmallow hissed, her voice suddenly booming out at the growing black blob forming around her. The sound causing a few poor unsuspecting first years to jump and squeal in surprise.

_Well, that answers my question,_ Esmerelda smiled in amusement. If the woman had heard the harsh comments, she didn't show it or have time to care, instead a little preoccupied with her new bug infestation and a light feeling of admiration lit up her insides — _what a true heroine. _Esmerelda mused, staring at the woman as she managed to kill a bug and ginned smugly in victory. There were real problems to worry about rather than some hateful comments from strangers!

"Mallow-Sensei. Is this what you meant by the last ones here? Why are there students from other schools?" The raven-haired girl asked, careful not to take her eyes off of the throng of students flooding in the vast space of what looked to be a courtyard.

The grassy yard was laid with large grey paved tiles for a good few yards, leading up to from what she could see was a littering of bright-colored tents and pavilions. Trees mostly shielded space from extensive heat, providing some much needed shaded area along the walkway. But behind those were the buildings, whatever facilities those held, she wasn't sure of, but the size of each area was gigantic, reminding her briefly of Shiketsu's school grounds. _Hmm. What is this place anyways?_

Esmerelda looked up when she felt a sticky warmth on the shoulder of her uniform, resisting the urge to blanch at the slightly gross sensation, to the deadpan face of the young teacher peering down at her. The babyface of the woman, littered with buzzing flies and bees, was almost comical with how serious she seemed, and Esermelda couldn't help but feel slightly bad for thinking so, especially as one rather large bee seemed to be making a home in her bun...

"Right you are, Hayashi. I promise I'll explain in a bit. Let's just get checked in first," Mallow-Sensei gave the younger an albeit, awkward, reassuring pat on the shoulder paired with- _Oh god, is she okay? _The seventeen-year-old paled, green eyes widening in concern and mild panic while the black lipstick covered lips of Mallow slowly morphed and grimaced and _oh, she's smiling, okay never mind. How rude of me to think that!_ The young teen visibly relaxed, a wave of relief washing over her as petite shoulders slumped downwards only momentarily before a feeling of guilt hit her. The ravenette returned the expression, with a halfhearted grin, refusing to meet the older's gaze for how ashamed of her thoughts she was but seemingly satisfied, Mallow pulled away, none the wiser.

The hero didn't waste any time abruptly ending the interaction and quickly shifting to make her way in the opposite direction of the crowded area.

"Follow me, kids." She called out over her shoulder with a trail of bugs flying after her. A few looks were shared amongst the teens, and slowly, while avoiding the pests, the students cautiously moved to follow behind the woman.

_Well, she tried_...Esmerelda trailed off in her thoughts, at least appreciating the woman's attempt at comfort even if she was honestly kind of needing improvement on tactics and looked like it physically pained her. _But it was the thought that counts_! The ravenette always believed. If your heart was in the right place, then that's what mattered. With the half-hearted smile in place, the winged girl turned on her heels, quickly trailing after the heroine through the crowd of students.

Chaos was an understatement. The strange buzzing of frantic energy hovered around, and the girl had to grip her fingers tightly into fists, feeling the trimmed nails dig into the skin of her palms serving as the only thing grounding her amongst the unknown. The entire area was so full of people, students crowding every square inch of the place and Esmerelda felt a weird mixture of nerves and bubbling excitement that lingered under the more prevalent confusion of just what in the world was going on here. But she kept her gaze locked on the poofy white hair of her sensei and the weird fog of bugs guiding her through the sea of people.

The teen felt her wings bristle under random stares from students from other schools as the blob of Shiketsu's student body passed under a long red tent, makeshift hallway. Marshmallow suddenly stopped in front of a pair of massive double doors, so tall that Esmerelda tilted her head back in awe, blinking up to where the doors stopped at least five meters up.

"Just right thru here, guys, there's a staged auditorium with Shiketsu's seats roped off. So find our rows and make sure to scoot down as far as possible, so there's room for everyone."

_An auditorium? _The girl blinked, raising a hand to scratch at the back of her skull, careful not to knock off her hat. The windowless building was painted a solid white and build in what looked like the shape of a large bowl of ramen, the rounded edges stretching upwards even higher than the doorframe.

The pro led them all through the entrance, and sure enough, once she entered the threshold, the hulking area posing as a single auditorium practically swallowed the entire student body of her school. It was almost overwhelming, with how huge the place actually was and the familiar itch of wanting to use her quirk made her swallow the feeling down.

"Whoa! This place is huge!" Esmerelda heard the high pitched feminine voice from somewhere in the crowd, and she couldn't help but share the other's sentiments. It was enormous, and she was really buzzing with newfound energy.

_Oh my gosh, I want to use my quirk so bad!_ _Could I get that tall? Maybe I could stretch my arms or legs out to rival the size? Would it be difficult to move like that?_

The girl quickly shook the thoughts away and moved to catch up with her classmates. Marshmallow promptly stepped up the side-stairs, and Esmerelda followed behind, not wanting to get lost in the insanely colossal area.

"Come on, everyone. Let's take a seat."

It didn't take long for Shiketsu to all get situated on their side of the auditorium near the top of the long rows of theatre seats. And once seated, the auditorium filled up fast with chattering students. Esmerelda was in awe for what felt like the millionth time today at the sheer amount of hero students in one area pouring in thick streams from the front doors and each trying to find a seat before the auditorium filled up. Sure they were all from different schools and had various motivations for their goals, but it was evident they all attended, for one thing, to become heroes and that thought really sparked the desire to do more and go the extra mile.

Entering as a third-year meant that she had seen a vast expanse of quirk types throughout her previous years at Shiketsu but this - this was just crazy. Students of all quirk - emitters, transformation, mutation, anything your imagination could come up with there was a student with that quirk. A faint excited buzz hummed in her chest as green eyes roamed over the throng of kids.

_There are so many uniforms_, _so many people everywhere!_ It was difficult even to pinpoint what schools were all here. There was a school with all-white uniforms, some with black, others multi-colored and - Esmerelda gasped, letting her gaze wander down to the bottom row and suddenly, a flash of color made drew her attention. _Woah...Is that who I think it is?_

A strange warmth suddenly brushed against her cheek and pulled her to the forefront of her mind, distracting her line of thought. The sensation causing the tip of her wings to twitch, and she slowly turned her head in the direction. What-?

"Dude! Is UA here too? I think I see that Deku guy down there! He's even better looking in person."

"AAHHHHHHH!" Esmerelda let out a startled yelp, feeling herself jump in the air from the newfound close proximity of Tamori. She threw a hand to her chest, pressing the palm into the skin there to contain the fast-beating of her heart threatening to burst out from surprise as the indigo haired boy chuckled next to her, throwing his head back against his seat with exaggeration. _When in the world had the boy moved to the seat next to her!?_

While Esmerelda worked to calm the thundering in her chest, Tamori tried to contain the laughter spilling from his lips. He threw his hands over his face in an aimless failed attempt before just outright dropping them and letting his giggles twinkle full force. _Wow...Thanks for the effort,_ she sighed, her heartbeat finally slowing to a more normal pace and not threatening to explode.

She watched as he wiped an invisible tear from his eyes before giving her a full, friendly grin that honestly had to admit did look quite lovely on his features, making the boy seem all the more handsome.

"Hey, sorry I didn't mean to scare you...okay maybe I did, but I didn't think you'd take the bate like that! I'm first-year Tamori, but please call me by my given name, Hayate." Ahh just as she expected, that would explain why she didn't recognize him. He was a new student, after all.

Yeah okay, he did surprise her. She can give him that.

Tamori stuck out a hand, and with a second long glance, Esmerelda found herself taking it in her own, shaking the appendage before gently pulling away.

"I'm third-year student Esmerelda Hayashi. And it was kind of hard not to be afraid when someone breathes on you like that in your personal space Hayate-kun...But you did get me," Esmerelda murmured, feeling her cheeks darken in embarrassment from those bright yellow orbs glued to her that. '_Goodness, were his eyes the literal sun?' _She quickly hid her blushing cheeks underneath dark hair, yanking it to her face with a nervous chuckle that the boy, to her extreme horror, cooed at.

"Ah! Zelda-Senpai! What a cute nickname. Sorry, but I had to do it to get your attention! You're just too pretty sitting over there with your face all scrunched up in thought," the boy gushed before shooting her a wink, obviously not genuinely sorry, "I can do more than that in your personal space -"

"I wonder what's going on." A voice cut the boy off, sounding from her left and the girl turned towards the source a few seats over from her own to see Hiryu, a boy just a year below her. He tilted his head only slightly in mild curiosity, arms draped over the deep navy coat breast with an easy-going aura surrounding him.

_Oh, bless your kind soul, Hiryu,_ the ravenette sighed in relief, slinking down in her seat as a surge of gratefulness squeezed her heart, glad for the distraction to remove the color from her cheeks, the somewhat timid and composed girl not used to all of the attention.

_Ugh! Stop blushing from cheesy lines! _

Hiryu was easily recognizable due to the straggly jet black hair curtained over his eyes, just hiding them from view and made it difficult to tell just what his facial features looked like. She had never actually seen his face, or really spoken to the boy but had seen him a few times throughout school. He seemed kind for the most part, and if his perfectly timed comment was anything to go off of, he was also helpful and thoughtful.

_What a good guy,_ she smiled to herself and stored the knowledge away for later.

Tamori piped up from his seat next to the other, his bright yellow eyes alight with eagerness as he casually put his feet up onto the chair back in front of him.

"Eh, who knows but it all seems like a fun mystery to me! And there are a ton of pretty people here, wow...What a dream come true." He exclaimed as a spaced-out look flashed over his face.

A booming voice suddenly filled the area, and immediately, Tamori fell silent.

"Okay, kids! Let's get this thing started!"

A hush fell over the lingering chatting of students as they focused in on the announcement. Esmerelda's gaze fell on the floor below her extremely high seat. _Oh geez, they're pretty far away. _She let out a sigh before squinting her eyes to barely make out a colorful cast of pro heroes lingering in the center of the building. Thankfully, it seemed that the pros had thought of this, because large television screens hung from the ceilings, one placed it every angle to ensure every student was able to see.

She glanced up at the screen, and their faces quickly came into perfect view.

"Is it bad that I'm a little scared by how many pros are here? Did we do something wrong?" Tamori quietly whispered from under a hand plastered over his lips, and Emmy regarded him with a long glance. "Oh, damn! Isn't that UA's principal? And I'm pretty sure that's the heroine, Drill Sergeant, and Present Mic, Eclipse, and even Death Arms! Can you believe it? What are all of these heroes doin' here?"

Well, he made a good point. What _were_ they doing here? From below, several pro heroes lined up in front of a microphone stand, all standing at attention with their eyes on them and she almost flinched under the intimidating gazes. Did they do something wrong? No..They didn't. They couldn't have! That wouldn't make sense for them to all be here if they made a mistake. Headmaster would have called them in to talk if that were the case. This situation was something else entirely.

"I don't think so, but I'm just as confused as you are. I'm positive we aren't in trouble though," Esmerelda murmured back without taking her eyes off of the screen above. From what she could see, it looked like several school's principles were here, along with an array of pro heroes and known teachers.

Oh my god, an audible gasp fell from the girl's lips when her eyes lingered on a skinny male, her headmaster, standing amongst the group. His eyebrows furrowed under the rounded turtle shell glasses perched on the bridge of his slim, dark-complected nose, those electric blue eyes focused and serious.

_Headmaster is here? Just what in the world was going on?_

A small rodent-like individual drew her out of her thoughts when he gave an abrupt nod to someone below, and another familiar face suddenly emerged from the group. The dark-clad man moving as if he was ages older than he really was, hands clasped behind his back with a bored, bloodshot expression glancing over the crowd of students before coming to a stop in front of the microphone.

Eraserhead lifted his hands and adjusted the long fabric of his scarf, revealing his mouth and black stubble of a beard shadowing his pale face, "I'm sure you're all wondering just why you're all here with other schools. Yes we know it might not be conventional practice, but after long meetings from all parties, we have decided that all schools present are apart of a new program. So welcome to United Force, kids. Our new joint hero program that combines you all in the hero sector."

Wait.

The entire room was so quiet that the teen was sure she could hear her on breaths puffing out loudly in the silence, literally the only sound filling her ears, save for the low buzzing of the bugs that had managed to follow Marshmallow inside the building. And if she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend she was the only one in the room. Whatever the tactic was here, the black-haired man pushed forward, awkwardly shuffling on his feet under the scrutiny before annoyedly shifting his messy hair behind his ears.

"This will not be a typical school year experience for any of you, and because of the large number of students we have that are all in various years of study, we have decided to combine everyone into groups for the remainder of the year. These groups will separate everyone into a newly formed 'class.' You might be accustomed to being with those in your year/grade, but forget that here. Because from this moment on, you will not be associated by your year, but by your ranking and statistics."

Esmerelda didn't have time to process anything as Eraserhead continued without pause. His stoic drawl echoing around the dead silent auditorium and the girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat from the tension in the air.

"For core curricular such as Japanese lit, math, science, history, and etcetera, you will all be placed back into your grade level by age regardless of your school. Although with hero course work you will separate into your given groups."

At the words, the monitors quickly shifted from the heroes below to a diagram. A list of multiple school names scrolled over the screen like credits, Esmerelda picked up on Shiketsu right away amongst the groups. The names smoothly transitioned into a drawing of several black blocks all connected by shifting lines. Suddenly, the boxes that appeared on the screen changed colors, each a different one and equalling to about ten or more boxes.

"To choose these groups, it will not be a random selection, but by what you all might be familiar with hero school's criteria of an entrance exam. In just a few minutes, you all will be separated into color groups for the entrance exam which was, of course, chosen at random. The goal of this exam is for your group to earn the most points collectively. We will be analyzing not only your groups teamwork and collective points but also individual performance."

The screen shifted again to what resembled an arena of sorts. A colored box was placed at each corner of the area, with strange grey boxes sprouting in between and blocking each of the color sections off from each other, creating some form of distance.

"So here's how the exam will work. Everyone will be separated into color groups at random. Your group will then be in charge of a base. Think of this base as your hero facility, which you must protect and defend. Every other group is a villain to your specific group," Eraserhead paused and glanced up in time to see the little animations appear on the screen.

An outline of a man in a cap, flexing large muscles hovered over the red base and the rest of the bases on the screen, yellow, blue and purple all showed an outline of a man in a ski-mask, the animation of a criminal, she supposed.

Eraserhead's eye twitched when the animated hero icon flew over the screen and 'captured' a criminal, before flying the villain back to his base. And to Esmerelda's growing amusement, iron bars formed around the tiny icon. The girl brought a hand over her lips to hide her grin as Eraserhead's dry, almost pained, "_Really? This is what we're spending our money on, animations,"_ comment accidentally picked up over the microphone, and the man rolled his eyes back into his skull before clearing his throat.

"These villains or other teams will be trying to not only defend their own bases but capture other teams. When you capture another player they are held in your base and each player captured is a point. Although, you do not just have to stand around your area. You can raid other bases and even take back your teammates or 'free' them within the time limit. Once the time limit is up, we will tally up the scores of how many points or prisoners each team has collected which will decide rankings."

With that, the dark-haired hero turned on his heels and slunk back to the crowd of heroes, seemingly deciding that was the end of his spill. The silence that continued to fall on the auditorium made a ball of discomfort settle in her chest, even as Present mic came forward to take the empty mic.

The blonde hero adjusted the sunglasses on his face, and with an exaggerated thumbs-up, he grinned so wide Esermelda was concerned he honestly might split his face in two.

"But remember kiddos! Don't just play for your team. You must also do your part to defend and capture. If you let others do all of the work, then points will be reduced from your own score. Now...WELCOME TO OUR PROGRAM!"

_Ehhhh!?_

* * *

Chapter one is finally complete! A special introduction to Esmerelda as our chapters focus and a little cameo from Inasa! We also got to see a little of Hiryu and Tamori who will be seen even more next chapter and an introduction to one of Shiketsu's teachers, Marshmallow!

I'm so so sorry for such a lengthy update, both time-wise and chapter-wise. Snow Bender has still been unavailable with her health taking the forefront so this chapter is a MESS. She hasn't edited it or even read it and I feel awful about posting without her, but I want her to be able to focus on herself right now. I honestly am super disappointed with myself for this update and I hope you all don't hate it... I just wanted to get it completed and out so we could start the entrance exams.

I've been reading all of the reviews and my PMs and a few people suggested that I might try to make it easier to read, so I hope this helped. I'm trying out a new style with this chapter that has a bit less description than I would like so tell me if you prefer this style better than the last chapter or not? Do you guys want more description? More dialogue? More action? Thoughts? ETC? Just let me know in a review, please!

Thank you all again for reviewing, favoriting and following this fic! I am still so honored by the support for this story and the last thing I want is to disappoint you all. I seriously teared up when I saw that we have 44 follows. Like wow...Thank you so so much. I've felt a ton of pressure for this update and have rewritten my ideas over and over to make sure it was decent enough for posting. I honestly felt a bit like crying with how shitty I feel like this turned out, but I'm persevering you guys! I want to be a good writer for you all and improve myself in any way you guys see fit, so please let me know if there's something I can work on.

And lemme tell ya, I straight up put all of our kiddos in a randomizer to pick groups for our entrance exam so lets see how this goes xD If you all want to see something with the whole school and camp combination let me know!

Currently going through teachers and villains and will have more posted to the roster soon. Submissions are open for both positions!

_Yours truly,_

_Snow Bender & Lotus_


	6. IMPORTANT UPDATE SEP 12

Hello again everyone. It's been a few weeks since I posted my last update and I wanted to give you guys a little notice. I genuinely want to thank everyone for offering to help with the fic. You guys don't know how much that means to me, seriously. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I haven't been able to answer PMs so I'm getting to that but here's what's going on.

As you all know, I have talked about my battle with cancer and finally being in remission. This is something I'm so proud of and continue to get checkups regularly to keep in good health. But I noticed a while ago that I was starting to get sick and during my last visit a week and a half ago, I learned that I developed pneumonia and that has sucked so bad. With having cancer, my immune system is pretty shit, to be honest, so any sickness hits me tenfold, and it has been such a struggle just to get over it. My doctor made me stay in the hospital for a while, but I'm home now. I'm still dealing with it and have had to quarantine myself as not to make it worse considering I could end up back in the hospital for an extended stay, so I want to avoid that. I'm a bit worried at this point, and I've taken some time off my job, for now, to focus on health and homework online. So this is why I have not been available. I'm so sorry!

I am still very much involved with this fic, and If you guys will still have me, I'd love to continue updating. I really am so sorry for not answering anyone or being around, and I am literally over the moon with gratitude for you all. I feel like a huge douche for not getting my stuff together, and I'm just so sorry to you all. Please PM me again if you'd like and if anyone is still interested in helping out after me not answering, thank you times a million! I'm trying to talk to Snow as well, so hopefully, we can work on getting back together on this lol when she is able. Thank you all again. I don't deserve such fantastic readers. Once I'm fully over this you guys can expect regular updates again in a timely manner (LOL GOALS) so thanks a million for supporting me.

Lotus


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